Family Affairs
by na-chan00
Summary: AU. These are the tales of the two D. Brothers who undoubtedly share more than an ordinary bond. Contains high school setting with the rest of the Straw Hats and lots of wonderful brotherly fluff. Spoilers for Post-war arc.
1. Episode 1

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, the god of epicness Oda-sama does.

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Family Affairs

Episode 1

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Luffy was mad. Luffy was _mad mad mad_ and that was saying something. Except the few times when he was painfully hungry, Luffy was never _mad mad mad_, and even then, it was just desperation mixed with intense starvation, which leads to conclude that Luffy was _mad mad mad_ because of something totally unrelated to food. Luffy was _mad mad mad_ because of a single word. Ace. That busy older brother of his whose only surname he could remember at the time was Stupid. Stupid Ace.

It was common sense to practically everyone that time did not pass by quickly for Luffy when he was bored, and trust me, waiting for Ace was like hell to him. Ace was in charge of all the things important in Luffy's life. He could be considered his only family if not for their outrageous grandfather who stopped by from time to time. Ace took care of meals, the house, more meals, shopping, school, meals and more meals and Luffy did not enjoy when there was no Ace around. Although he understood clearly that his brother had to study too, that he had his own private life and friends, it ticked Luffy off being forgotten like this.

Luckily for him, his neighbor Makino-san came to invite him to dine a delicious stew at her house, one floor under the D. brother's apartment, just before twilight with the intent of distracting Luffy from his brother's absence. Makino-san worked as a bartender in a famous bar of the Fuschia District called Patty's Bar and along with their grandfather and landlord, Wood Slap, she was one of the few people who took care of the D. brothers while growing up. She was very kind and forgiving and she acted on Luffy as a mother figure. It was also Makino-san who presented Shanks to Luffy and that was something he would always be grateful for.

"You keep surprising me with your appetite Luffy-kun!" Makino said to him with a soft giggle. She cleaned the surface of the kotatsu where they had just dined and placed a plate of dumplings in front of the sad-looking Luffy.

"Don't make that face Luffy. He must be late for some reason. Ace isn't the kind of person to just go worrying his little brother like that" she said with a smile. Luffy couldn't help but pout. He grabbed one stick of dumplings and shoved the three of them into his mouth.

"He should be home already…" he said in a haze. His eyes were fixed on the tv screen in front of him. Makino sighed deeply and looked out of the window hopelessly. Her plan to ease Luffy's suffering hadn't succeeded at all. It was always a problem to console him when his brother's was away. She knew how close the two of them were, however, Luffy's stomach wouldn't complain for the next couple of hours. Some part of her job had been accomplished.

* * *

Luffy returned to the apartment half an hour later since Makino had failed to keep him busy with food. He sat on the living room floor stubbornly, furious at himself for having nothing to do. Then a great idea flashed to his mind. He immediately walked up to his brother's room, unfolded his futon ruthlessly and threw himself on top of it. That way he was sure he would wake up the moment Ace arrived. There was absolutely no way he would miss that! Luffy was going to make the fuss of a lifetime and with reason. For how many days had these delays been going on now? He had pretended not to care much, he even tried to ignore it since Makino-san had been gentle enough to cook him dinner, but it had finally come down to a gigantic bubble of anger.

An hour later, at 11 p.m. the telephone rang in the corridor and such a sign of communication reached Luffy's household loudly, piercing the heavy silence that had installed itself upon the inhabitant's gloom. Luffy instantly jumped out of the futon and raced towards the phone, his heart rate screaming up through the roof. Unfortunately, it wasn't Ace on the other side of the line.

"What do you want at this hour Usopp? Didn't I tell you I was stopping by your house tomorrow?" Luffy said irritated and incredibly bored. Usopp just shrugged.

"Sheesh! You don't need to be that way, grumpy" he replied in a funny voice. Luffy just responded with a weird grunt.

"Anyway, that wasn't why I called you"

"Heh-"

"Are you ok Luffy?"

"Heh-"

"Zombie?"

"Heh-"

"Have you been put on a cage and starved to madness?"

"Heh-"

"Thought so…" Usopp whispered more to himself than anyone else. The conversation didn't seem to go anywhere but he still kept on going "Well, I don't care if you're weird right now Luffy, 'cause you're always weird, so this shouldn't be any different. Anyway, here's the thing I wanted to ask. Has Ace been acting strange lately?"

The mere spelling of the name caught Luffy's attention with a jolt. Not fully though. That could only be achieved by the appearance of Ace in front of him at that very moment.

"N-no..?" It wasn't a statement but it wasn't a question either. Since Luffy didn't use to think much before speaking this kind of ambiguous answer slipped from his lips absent-mindedly. Usopp's question surely had confused him. Did he know something? Because it kind of sounded like he did…

"No? 'Cause I just saw him leaving Shakky's bar five minutes ago"

"What?" Luffy exclaimed. Anxiety, doubt and anger were boiling inside him and he literally did not know what to say, much less do. Impatience was throbbing in the back of his head and he found himself repeating his words "What? What?"

"Well, yeah. I know he is an adult already, but it's so not like him. Hey, if he has one of those sleeping fits of his in the middle of the street I'm not going there Luffy! Did you hear me? Some thug might appear and kill me or rob me or torture me while I'm trying to help him you know… of course the mighty Usopp-sama could handle something like that, but with an injured man under his wing bad things could happen. In this troubled ocean we call the world you never know how the fate of the great warrior Usopp might end up! That's just what I'm trying to say, Ace should look out for himself. It isn't the first time this week that- Luffy? Luffy? Are you there? Oi!"

Usopp called after him a few more times but long had passed since Luffy had dropped the phone and left it hanging lazily from the table top. All he needed to know was time and place and even if Usopp liked to ramble and lie Luffy would never doubt him. In fact, Luffy never doubted any of his friends.

After assimilating '_Shaky's bar'_ and '_five minutes ago'_, Luffy stormed out of the condo and made his way towards the Shanbondy District. It was the part of the city where all motels, bars, shady stores and, ironically, the amusement park were located, as well as gambling, brawls and thefts. Usopp's house was just next to the thirteenth block of the Shanbondy District where Shakky's Rip-Off bar was situated. However, his house belonged to a little neighborhood called Syrup Village and was therefor, on the border of the two areas.

Being Shanbondy the place it was of course Ace's wandering worried Luffy. People didn't need to be extremely clever to know that Shanbondy District was a dangerous place and even knowing the amount of friends his brother had over there, it didn't calm Luffy one bit. Yes, Ace and his friends were all strong, and probably more than simply strong, but strength alone wasn't exactly what mattered in that place. At least that's what Nami used to say and that was enough to make Luffy understand. Obviously, he wasn't entirely aware of the danger he was putting himself into by going there but bringing Ace home was his priority right now. All he wanted was Ace back at home. Was that asking too much?

As Luffy ran around in shorts, t-shirt and a light hoodie, the cold breezy night did not seem to affect him. He sprinted past Baratie not even catching his friend's eye, Sanji, who was working his late night shift, and kept running towards Shakky's bar. He crossed the whole Fuschia District and afterward the Commi District, where his friend Nami lived in a peaceful neighborhood called Cocoyashi Village. Nami's sister Nojiko caught a glimpse of Luffy when he was leaving but he barely listened to her greeting with all the rush.

When he finally entered Shanbondy from the shopping quarters he quickly started looking around for his brother. The streets were almost empty except for one or two shady passersby which eased his search. Nevertheless, Luffy found nothing throughout the next four blocks and he ended up in front of Shakky's bar completely out of breath.

"Damn it…" he grunted angrily. He looked to his right and saw Usopp's little house. All the lights were turned off which meant his friend was probably already asleep. What wouldn't Luffy give to be cozily tucked in bed right too. He sighed sadly and then lurked around the bar looking for any signs of his brother. If he had already left he could still be around the place somewhere. Yet there was nothing. Nothing whatsoever. "Stupid Ace…where is he?"

"Luffy? Is that you?" a soothing voice came from behind. Luffy turned around sceptically, bored out of his mind, and met the person.

"What are you doing here?" the man asked calmly. He had blonde messy hair and even under the poor moonlight he seemed pretty tanned. His expression was sleepy and his eyes seemed to be half closed. Luffy recalled him as one of Ace's closest friends which immediately flared up his anxiety. Marco would definitely know where Ace was!

"Where's Ace?" Luffy asked bluntly.

"I don't know, I haven't seen him all day" Marco replied slowly. Luffy thought he must have misheard him.

"Where's Ace?" he asked again. Marco looked at him in silence for a minute before speaking again.

"I already told you I don't know kid"

"You don't? Then where is he!" his voice sounded strangely like a plea and Marco looked at him complacently while shaking his head slightly.

"Go home kid. Ace wouldn't like to see you here"

"Well I can't because Ace isn't home!" Luffy snapped.

"He must be worried-"

"I'M worried!"

"Well" said Marco scratching his neck in a lazy manner "Ace is not going to pop out of nowhere, so just go home. At least that's a place where he is bound to show up don't you think?"

Luffy stood silent for a moment _actually_ thinking about what Marco had just told him. He was partially right, Ace would definitely return home, but wasn't this a good opportunity to find out what he was doing? Luffy would have to cling to that. He glanced at Shakky's Bar with a determined look.

"Yeah. I'm just going to say hi to Shakky baa-san" Luffy said "See ya!" and then he strolled over to the bar's entrance.

Marco remained in his spot staring at Luffy's back apathetically and then went to resume his walk. After turning a corner at the end of the street and losing Shakky's bar off sight, he reached for his phone and began dialing a number.

* * *

Luffy entered the small establishment confidently and proceeded to scan around the cozy place. There was a man sitting in a couch to his right wearing a strange white fluffy hat and a couple of scroungy looking old men at the counter. No Ace to be found as expected. Luffy took a few steps forward and soon Shakky emerged from under the counter with a bottle of beer in her hand.

"Oh, Monkey-chan! What are you doing here so late?" she beamed with the usual cigarette hanging on the corner of her lips. She walked over to the man sitting in the couch and placed the bottle of beer on the coffee-table in front of him.

"I'm looking for Ace, Usopp told me he was here" Luffy said bluntly, examining the fluffy hat on the man's head.

"Yes, Ace-kun was here" Shakky replied "But he left already"

"Where did he go?"

"He probably headed home Monkey-chan" Shakky said matter-of-factually. Luffy frowned.

"I don't think so. I've been waiting for hours! What did he come here for anyway?" Anxiety stung his throat again as he verbalized his inner question. He quickly sat by the counter and shoved a handful of peanuts into his mouth so as to disguise his intention.

"Hmm…" Shakky gazed into the distance, exhaled a little smoke and after pondering about the right words to say replied "Ace-kun came here looking for some…info"

"Info? What info?" Luffy's expression was again lost in confusion.

"I'm sorry but I can't help you any further Monkey-chan. Information has its price" she said with a smirk. Luffy furrowed his eyebrows and groaned.

"C'mon baa-san…" he ate another handful of peanuts and let his head fall soundly on the top of the counter.

"I'll tell Rayleigh-san you were here. He would have liked to see you. Now go home Monkey-chan, Ace must be looking for you" Shakky said stroking Luffy's hair. He nodded with a lazy moan and dragged his feet towards the entry.

"Come visit again soon"

Luffy saw Shakky waving at him from behind the counter and after returning the gesture he stepped outside facing the cold of the night with goose-bumps. Now that he wasn't running around like a mad dog anymore the harsh weather had become much more vivid. Luffy put his arms around himself and walked down the front steps to the main street. Marco and Shakky were right. He really should go back home. Ace ought to be there by now probably fuming with anger at Luffy's absence, just like Luffy himself had been more than half an hour ago.

While thinking about his future punishments, Luffy recalled his conversation with Shakky and started wandering about Ace's quest for information. What did he even want to know? When Garp would be back with one of his family weekends again? That was just damn right stupid. There really wasn't anything Luffy could think of. Ace was currently too busy with university and his part-time job to go around looking for "_info_" still… he had indeed gone to Shakky's. It didn't make any sense. Could it be that it was related to-

"Uhh!"

A sudden grip interrupted Luffy's train of thought and he was bodily pushed against the nearest wall. A pair of arms came to rest beside each of Luffy's ears and he quickly recognized the man before him. It was the guy wearing the strange fluffy hat that he had seen in Shakky's bar.

"You!" Luffy groaned but the man cut him off.

"Who would have thought our paths would cross today, Monkey D. Luffy…" the man trailed away with a smirk. Luffy tried breaking free of the restricted position but the guy had him positively cornered "I heard you were interested in some _information_" he said putting a slight emphasis on the last word. His big hat shadowed his eyes, allowing only a glint of amusement to spark.

"Oi! …" Luffy muttered a couple of curses while trying to break free and then shouted "What the hell are you talking about! Let me go!" he raised a fist ready to punch the guy in the face but the other grabbed it quite easily. Luffy was startled.

"You're interested in Ace's information right?" the man said in a cool voice "I heard you back there"

Luffy's eyes widened and his hot breaths became visible through the thick cold air. The man in front of him seemed quite pleased with himself, almost excited.

"Y-yeah" Luffy answered honestly, though a little uncertain. He really just wanted to get out of that straining position.

"Then lets make an exchange" the man said. He was smiling openly, his pearly white teeth showing "I'll tell you what I know in exchange of some…" he paused briefly and approached Luffy's ear before ending his sentence "…fun"

Luffy blinked awkwardly and looked at the man confused. A mix of panic and anxiety started building inside his chest and without noticing, his breaths became irregular. Something was telling him everything about the situation was wrong. Totally wrong. However, if it would help him understand Ace's actions, then it was fine. Though, there's something he didn't quite grasp.

"What do you mean, fun?" Luffy queried in a somewhat gauche manner, unconsciously backing away, pushing himself against the wall, as if willing it to let him pass through. The man chuckled. He was now so close his breath tickled Luffy's cheeks. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up with a wince and his already goose-bumped skin felt like hiding.

"Just… fun" the man replied amusingly and then Luffy saw an arm descending from his side. At first he thought he was being set free from the tight position, but he soon felt soft fingertips brushing against his stomach. A jolt of horror went up his spine and he let out an unintentional moan. The man chuckled again and, as his hand traveled inside Luffy's t-shirt, his face leaned closer. Luffy's heart rate started beating a thousand per second, disconnecting any chain of thought, and before he could shout for any kind of help, a blur accompanied with a loud wall-shattering crash appeared out of nowhere and the last thing he saw was the fluffy hat flying peacefully through the midnight sky and landing a couple of feet beside him.

Luffy fell to his knees out of breath. It was strange. He was one of those few people who were afraid of practically nothing and now he just couldn't be more grateful for escaping such moment. His heart was thundering in his chest and the only thing he wanted to do now was run back home.

As the fog of dust dissipated, Luffy managed to look up at the scene before him and what he saw terrified him completely. He might as well have been thrown inside a well. An immensely angry Ace was standing right in front of him with clenching fists staring at the man he had just hit. Luffy could barely recognize the expression on his own brother's face. He had never seen him this mad. Ace walked silently towards the man lying against the crushed wall and picked him up by his collar, without even as a look to Luffy.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing Law!" it wasn't a question, it was more like a roar.

"I-I just joking dude, just jo-"

Wrong answer. Ace didn't even let Law finish or explain himself. He landed another punch on his face so brutally Luffy thought he heard something break. Law stumbled over a pile of rubber and fell on his back with a thud. Everything became quiet once again. Luffy didn't dare to move an inch. Ace ran his hand through his hair desperately and then began walking over to the defeated man. His reason seemed to have finally kicked in amidst his raging consciousness. However, Law got up by himself before Ace could reach him. He straightened his clothes calmly as if Ace had never existed in the first place and then took a few steps towards Luffy to grab his hat. When he got closer enough, Luffy was able to see the nasty scratches all over his arms from the impacts and the utterly bleeding face where a broken nose surely stood there looking quite painful. Nobody spoke.

After picking up his hat and removing off the specks of dust, Law bowed slightly to Luffy and smiled "I'm sorry for the inconvenience Monkey-kid. I must be going" he said before tilting his hat and leaving the alley.

Luffy watched him walked away with a blank stare. His insides were shaking. It was not like the worst part had ended. It was about to begin. What in the world was he going to say to Ace? How was he supposed to face him after what had just happened? The mere thought of looking at his brother made him shiver. How did he even find Luffy? Where had he been all this time? A small amount of anger came rushing back to Luffy as he remembered the purpose of his little adventure. It was all Ace's fault to begin with!

"Get up" Ace's strict voice said as he approached. Luffy obeyed instantly and got up to his feet. He detached himself from the wall calmly, but as soon as he took a step forward his face met Ace's fist. A shower of yells followed.

"You big idiot! What were you thinking Luffy? Coming here at this hour?" Ace could barely believe his own words "What a stupid thing to do, idiot!"

Luffy could not help it anymore. He got up and punched Ace right back in the face.

"You're the idiot! Stupid Ace! Always coming late! Stupid stupid stupid!" Luffy charged at his brother and both of them began fighting in the middle of the alley. While muttering incoherently, punches were thrown, kicks flew, arms swung…it was a wrestle match that took them a few minutes before the two were completely exhausted.

"How could you let him do that? Aargh! I can't even begin to understand! You're so reckless!" Ace managed to scowl between deep breaths. Luffy who was down on one knee yelled back fiercely.

"Shut up! It's all your fault!" he said, and then proceeded to tackle down Ace one last time with all his might. He landed on top of the older brother roughly and then began throwing punches at his chest, but with the little strength he had left they seemed more like pats.

"Stupid Ace, I looked everywhere for… you… stupid… take this!...and this!..." Luffy went on and on until his eyes became watery. He felt so bad after everything. It all seemed worthless now. Instantly, he felt Ace's warm hands grabbing his forearms making him stop.

"I thought I had warned you properly about this place Luffy…" Ace said calmly, there was only the deepest concern in his voice "Just promise me you won't do something like this again. Ever again" he raised his upper body slowly and hugged Luffy tightly, who immediately came down to tears at the gesture. Ace smiled to himself and stroked Luffy's hair gently "You don't need to be a crybaby, idiot" he muttered in his ear, but Luffy didn't seem to listen.

In fact Luffy didn't seem to mind at all. The physical contact he had so desperately tried to run away from minutes ago was totally unrelated to the clinginess he showed now. Such behavior was easy to understand since Ace was in charge of everything in Luffy's life including his personal well-being. Also, Ace was his only brother and the person with whom Luffy had the greatest emotional attachment to. It was as simple as that and that's why it didn't bothered Luffy.

Not as much as it bothered Ace. Ace was terribly bothered by all sorts of things.

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AN: I still can't believe I actually wrote this. I've been trying to write a D. Brother's fic for so long, that I'm somewhat proud of myself x) I plan to do this fic in an episodic manner, so every chapter will have a bit of fluff. I'm still not sure how to evolve their relationship to something deeper, but I'll try my best. I hope you guys like it! Cheers! R&R

AN2: I've edited the whole thing, hopefully for a a smoother reading.


	2. Episode 2

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, the god of epicness Oda-sama does.

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Family Affairs

Episode 2

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Ace's life could be summed up in various words. However, none could mean more than his brother's name. Luffy was the source of all kinds of problems in Ace's life, and it seemed that, as he grew up and got older, those problems just pilled up more hastily than ever. In fact, not only did they multiply, but they started to bring all sorts of feelings attached and that was when Ace's long time trouble began to really ache in non tangible ways.

Rational as he was, it was nearly impossible not to think about it, though Ace tried. Ace tried with all his might, and most of the times it worked. His apathetic self managed to get hold of his body and, more importantly, of his mind. He almost felt proud of himself, if not for those obnoxious times when his feelings overwhelmed any kind of reason and took over his soul. Aside those, he was a generally good-natured brother, a generally good-natured brother _with issues_ nonetheless.

A loud clanking noise interrupted Ace's musings from the corridor of the apartment. He sighed with some desperation and turned his head slightly to the right.

"Luffy?" he yelled from the kitchen. His younger brother must have slipped clumsily somewhere as usual.

"THE SOAP!!" Luffy shouted back with something akin to anger in his voice. Ace could not help but laugh.

He finished making the breakfast quickly and as soon as he placed the plates on the table Luffy rushed into the kitchen, sitting in his chair immediately. Knife and fork in each hand ready to dig in. It was all positively acceptable, if not for Luffy being just fresh out of the shower and wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. His hair was drenched wet and plastered all over his face, letting a few drops fall to the table. A vein threatened to throb in Ace's forehead.

"What is this?" Ace growled. Luffy looked up at him with a frown, his mouth full.

"Breakfast time" Luffy replied blatantly after swallowing an insane amount of food. Ace smacked him in the head diligently.

"Decent Luffy! Be decent!" he chided irritably, running a hand through his hair. Luffy groaned between other forkfuls of food and nodded with his head forcefully. Meanwhile, Ace walked up to Luffy's room, with quick steps so as to determinedly shove away inconvenient thoughts, and opened the windows to let some air in. He then tidied up Luffy's futon and threw the sheets to a corner. He would have to deal with them later. He left the room and closed the door behind him, though a certain detail spurred his curiosity. He returned to the kitchen and perked his head inside.

"Did you sleep with your night lamp on?"

_SPURK!!!_

Ace's question was met with shocking surprise. Luffy spurted out all liquid content in his mouth.

"W-what? N-no, I just-" Luffy stuttered a few words, fidgeting nervously with his fingers "I forgot to turn it off!" he said triumphantly, though not that persuasive. Fortunately Ace's attention had been diverted elsewhere.

"Idiot! Look what you have done! Now I have to clean that mess too!" Ace shot Luffy a furtive glance "And why are you still half-naked here? Go get dressed, we're late!"

Luffy got up rapidly and fled the kitchen with a last piece of bread in his mouth, before Ace could proceed to more violent displays of impatience. He entered his room, now carefully cleaned up, and took out of the dresser his school uniform. He didn't get why Ace was so mad. He was hungry, so clothes could wait, his stomach couldn't! Luffy dropped the towel over the pile of dirty sheets in the corner and left the bedroom to search for his school bag, which should be somewhere in the living room. He walked past Ace's room quietly and a sudden amusing comment popped in his head as he did so. He peeked inside and there was Ace, changing into his clothes as expected. Weren't they brothers, Luffy might not have made it in time.

Ace was sliding into a pair of comfortable-looking slacks and pulling a loose-fitting shirt over a smoothly bare muscled chest. Luffy smirked.

"Aah… Ace is not being decent either" his retorted seemed to travel around the room for a century. There was a momentarily awkward silence and then Ace turned around at speed of light, hitting Luffy with the nearest object at hand, which ended up being his pyjama's t-shirt. Luffy laughed loudly and grasped the thrown t-shirt hanging on his shoulder.

"I'm keeping it!" he stated goofily and zoomed out of sight; happily strolling inside the living room, where his belongings were scattered everywhere, and grinning stupidly with a fluttering feeling nestled inside his chest. Ace sighed deeply and shrugged off any shade of red that might have clawed its way onto his features.

"Are you ready Luffy?" Ace complained minutes later from the narrow hallway just outside the front door.

"I can't find my walleeeet~~~"

"Hurry up!"

Ace approached the rail of the staircase and looked down. Makino-san was chatting lively with old man Wood Slap and both seemed pretty worried. What could they be talking about? Ace furrowed his eyebrows and leaned slightly on the rail in order to catch some words. However, with excellent timing as always, Luffy came out of the apartment and reclaimed Ace's whole attention to himself, unwillingly of course.

"It was under a pillow that was under the kotatsu…" Luffy muttered moodily while eyeing his wallet "Under the under… mysterious hiding wallet…" he kept rambling in his usual odd common-sense while Ace locked the door. Then the two of them walked down to the ground-floor and greeted their two neighbours who fell to a petrified silence as soon as they heard Luffy drag his feet on the stairs.

"Good morning boys" Makino said cheerfully. Wood Slap just nodded with his head acknowledging the two brothers.

"Good morning" Ace replied.

"Morning Makino-san, morning ossan!" Luffy greeted, only to receive a soft elbow jab on the side. He glanced at Ace with a pout and followed his older brother. They left the little condo and resumed their walk to school.

"Did you notice something weird about Makino-san and the old man?" Ace asked when they were a safe distance from home. Luffy stopped his humming and pondered for a bit.

"No, not really. Why?"

"Nothing… it must have been my imagination" Ace lied. Of course Luffy wouldn't notice. It was Luffy after all, dense Luffy without a care in the world. Ace sighed and took a turn after his little brother. The high school and college buildings could already be seen from a distance.

"Ooh! There are Usopp and Nami! Oiiii!!" Luffy shouted. Some meters ahead both friends looked backwards and waved.

"Morning!"

"Good morning!"

"Oi Luffy you're not late today?" Usopp retorted perplexed.

"Hehehe. No, but I almost did not find my mysterious hiding wallet!" Luffy replied with a serious look.

"Eh? What?" Luffy began explaining in detail his earlier adventure to both Usopp and Nami, though the latter did not seem to find it that interesting, and the four kept walking cheerfully towards their destinations.

"Then I thought! It must be all burned under the kotatsu! But it wasn't! And-" they had finally reached the high school gates and Ace bade his goodbyes, startling Luffy. It felt like a wall of comfort had crashed down around him.

"See ya later Luffy"

"Y-yeah, later!" Luffy managed to grin widely and after loosing his brother from sight he began retelling the story to Usopp, mainly to shrug the feeling away.

"So, it was not only under, it was under the under…"

By the time they reached their classroom's corridor, Usopp was already boasting about one of his own stories with Luffy, and Nami was fuming with all the stupidity and Sanji's adoration until, of course, Zoro arrived and Sanji was forced to start a fight with the sleepyhead.

"Eeeeeh, found your way to school today marimo??" Sanji sneered amused.

"What did you say!!! Wanna die?" Zoro bellowed grabbing the collar of Sanji's uniform reflexively. The blonde twitched in annoyance.

"I'm gonna beat the shit outta ya!" The two glared at each other, uttering scornful curses but before any of them could even rise a finger a couple of slaps hit theirs heads like thunder.

"Shut up you two!!" Nami hissed hysterically. She felt like killing them herself "Get inside the classroom, now!" she followed them with her gaze until they stepped inside entirely and then she turned to Luffy, who was running away in the opposite direction.

"Where do you think you're going?" she queried angrily "Sensei must be coming at any minute!"

"I forgot to switch shoes!" Luffy replied, his voice almost inaudible because of the hordes of students entering their respective classes.

"How could you forget something like that idiot?" Nami asked outrageous. However, the only things she managed to hear after that were along the lines of 'Usopp…story…beams…crazy…cool…forgot', and she shrugged her shoulders in defeat. He would eventually be back, _late_.

Luffy raced towards the entrance where the rows of cubic lockers stood in parallel. There were still a few students changing into their inside shoes and Luffy rushed to do the exact same task. Although, as he crouched and took off his sneakers a hand came to rest suddenly on his shoulder and he flinched. The sort of fear that had overwhelmed him not just a week ago came back with a jolt and he felt his insides screech. Luffy got to his feet and turned around fiercely, grabbing the wrist of the person behind him.

"Ah..! Are you okay Luffy-kun?" A turquoise blue colour shone all around the fragile girl's face as she gasped. There was a pleading look in her expression, clearly meaning Luffy's grip was too tight. He immediately released her wrist with an apology.

"Sorry Vivi, I…" he began, without knowing what he was about to say, but it did not matter; Vivi had already pulled him and dragged him along with her.

"We're so late!" she exclaimed after glancing at her watch. Luffy stumbled a few steps behind her, still trying to put his shoes on, and took a deep sigh of relief. He just did not have a knack for excuses. How was he supposed to say he was being haunted by creepy images of a pervert? Vivi and the others would surely say it was another one of his crazy visions or ignore him because he had strange moods. Luffy could at least predict that. They could also laugh about it, which would bother him somehow, and there was also the terrifying and unacceptable chance that one of them might believe him and tell Ace. A shrill ran through Luffy's spine at the thought. He looked to the seat next to him and saw Nami giving him an apprehensive look. She knew. She knew something wasn't right. Luffy averted the gaze towards the window and kept silent throughout the rest of the class, evading her meaningful stares. He might as well do it, since it was stupid Smoker-sensei lecturing today, reeking tobacco out of every pore.

"Hey Luffy! Usopp! Wait up" Nami yelled at the end of the day after class. They were leaving the school entrance and walking up to the gate while complaining about Aokiji-sensei. Luffy could tell what she was planning.

"Yeah I don't know about that guy…" he nodded after a nasty remark from Usopp.

"He is cold!"

"Yeah cold guy!"

"Sleeps in class when no one is watching!"

"Sleepy guy!"

"Stop that you two idiots" Nami interjected fiercely "Anyway Usopp" she turned to him with a devilish expression" "I thought you were going to visit Franky's today" she said, though Usopp could tell she was almost commanding him.

"Y-yeah, sure, I was, I was" he replied quickly.

"Then what are you still doing here?!"

"Nothing M'am! I'm on my way" Usopp said and then strolled away in a quick pace, muttering to himself.

'_Nami-devil, onibaba…'_

"I CAN hear you!!" Nami shouted angrily. Usopp flinched sturdily in the distance and ran away, with reason. Then, Luffy took the opportunity to slip away from sight, but the red haired girl was quicker. She grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him backwards.

"Don't even try to run away this time Luffy" she said. Luffy groaned in disapproval and crossed his arms childishly.

"You've been staring at me all day. Scary!"

"I'll tell you who's scary!" she shook him by the neck furiously, making him emit strange gurgling noises "I know you have been acting weird these past few days. Weird in a negative way!" she added. Luffy just kept ignoring her with a disinterested pout.

"Nojiko saw you rushing to Shabondy some nights ago. She told me" Nami's words pierced Luffy like knives. Nojiko had been there? Where? A cold sweat broke along his forehead.

"I-I just went to see Shakky" Luffy replied honestly.

"Of course you did!" Nami said sarcastly "But what happened? Did she say something to you?" her question met stony silence.

"Is it Rayleigh-san again? Is he back? Or is it about Shanks? Is he okay?"

Luffy straightened up and scratched his neck tiredly. It seemed he was safe. Nojiko had not seen anything suspicious, nor did Nami suspect anything along those lines.

"They're all fine. Don't worry"

"What about you? Are you fine?" she asked less ironically now. Luffy gave her a big grin.

"Of course I am!" he exclaimed. Nami finally cracked a smile after a heavy sigh.

"I suppose you are" she nodded "Well, see ya tomorrow then"

"Bye Nami!" Luffy beamed and waved her good-bye. She returned the gesture and walked away, though not truly convinced.

When Luffy arrived at home a nice, delicious smell was tingling in the air. His recent worries were forgotten for instants and his feet lead him automatically to the kitchen were Ace was preparing dinner. Luffy had not even stepped one foot inside when a palm pressed against his head threw him out.

"Just one bite, just oneee~~~" Luffy begged.

"You wish!" Ace replied shortly.

"Pleasee! It smells so good, I'm dying heree"

"You just got home! Go do your homework and let me finish this" Ace said and turned around to the stove.

"Don't-" he was prepared to shout a third, forth, fifth, sixth, millionth time as usual but Luffy did not sneak from under anywhere or appear behind him silently to steal any food. He had done as he had been told. Ace peeked outside the kitchen and saw Luffy enter his room quietly.

"Strange"

After dinner both sat in front of the TV silently; Ace reading some school book and Luffy trying to squeeze his entire body under the kotatsu.

"Don't cover your head" Ace scolded. He had been trying to figure out Luffy's earlier behaviour to no avail. Luffy never gave up on food. There had to be something bothering him to bring him to that length. He seemed pretty normal in the morning, or was he already strangely strange and Ace had missed it? He had no idea. When it came to Luffy it could be anything really- Wait! Now, that he thought about it, there _had_ been something out of place: the night lamp in Luffy's bedroom. He had not given Ace any explanation about it either.

"I'm not covering it. I just wanted to see what was touching my butt" Luffy said earnestly "Could you move your foot?" he then asked amusingly. A sting of mild rage mixed with irrational embarrassment stabbed Ace.

"You're the one laying there!" he snapped, kicking Luffy underneath the small table. Luffy giggled happily and slid a hand inside the kotatsu. It travelled carefully towards Ace's lower limbs and soon the elder D. was forcing himself not to laugh.

"Bwaha - stop that Luffy – haha – come on! Hey stop-" When Ace finally burst out in laughter Luffy stopped the tickling and emerged totally from under the kotatsu.

"Hihihihi!"

"You think it's so damn funny, don't you?" Ace asked devilishly before reaching Luffy's leg and tickling him back. He rolled on the floor laughing loudly and gasping for breath.

"No more – hahaha –please – nhahaha – you win, you win"

Ace grinned at his victory and seized the moment to refresh his ideas. It was the perfect time to ask Luffy about what was bothering him. Yes, because Luffy's problems, were Ace's problems too. He loosened his grip on his brother's arms and looked at him seriously.

"So, Luffy what's with you today? I still don't know why you left the lamp next to the futon this morning" Luffy's grin faded away. He was speechless.

"Hm? Don't you think you're too old for that?" Ace asked jokingly, though Luffy remained silent.

"Well, if you don't want to tell me I understand, but turn it off before falling asleep. It will be troublesome if it stays on the whole night" Ace said with a sigh. Then he got up and headed to the narrow corridor of the apartment.

"Ah by the way, I need that t-shirt you took this morning-"

"No!" Luffy's immediate response surprised Ace. He took a few steps back to look at his brother.

"What are you saying? I am going to sleep in it. Did you left it in your bed-"

"No!" Luffy jumped from his seating position in a flash. He ran past Ace towards his room and blocked the entry with open arms.

"Luffy, you have hundreds of t-shirts better than that one!" Ace reasoned. But Luffy still shook his head.

"I'm the one who needs it, so I'm keeping it"

"You're being stubborn Luffy" Ace mumbled desperately "Why do you need it anyway?"

"To sleep!"

"So do I. It's my shirt!"

"But you don't let me use the lamp anymore!"

"What does that have anything to do-" Ace left his sentence unfinished. He had just figured that this was not some typical fight between brothers. Things were starting to make sense. After a few seconds Luffy's defiant look became one full of panic and it gave him away. Luffy had messed up.

"What were you saying?" Ace queried curiously.

"N-nothing. The t-shirt is mine. Period!" Luffy's hand reached for the doorknob and he prepared himself to stagger inside.

"Hey, hey, no one is going anywhere before you tell me what's going on" Ace said this time much more serious.

"I already told you it's nothing-" Luffy repeated averting his gaze.

"Are you having nightmares?" Ace asked.

Luffy flinched slightly and for a moment both brothers remained silent. His heart was thundering hard enough for his chest to burst. This was it; Luffy was facing the terrible unacceptable chance of Ace finding out about his awful paranoia, about his scary dreams where Law appeared and things simply got out of control. What the hell was he going to say? How was he going to explain that? At first, Luffy had just ignored the occurrence. Then memories of that night began flashing vividly in his mind unprompted and he tried to forget them. To make those visions go away. But it was all very useless and he decided to revoke sleep. It had become too frightening to go on. Luffy even tried to get rid of any superficial evidence by showering every morning but now, despite all his insanely rational efforts, Ace had discovered everything. _Almost_ everything, but he would soon put all the pieces together. He wouldn't swallow a petty excuse at this point.

"Are you having nightmares Luffy?" demanded Ace once more, heat pouring into his maelstrom of ill-constrained emotion, regardless of the truth of his brother's answer. He could practically foresee the root of Luffy's discomfort.

The younger D. nodded mutely, struck dumb with fear and anticipation.

"It's because of what happened the other night, isn't it?" Ace added bitterly. Boiling anger began to spread throughout his body just remembering it. He had failed to prevent that twisted contempt from engulfing his mind. Hitting his head off a wall had to be better than dealing with the thoughts presented to him right now.

"It's fine, it will go away" Luffy said swiftly, mind flooding with dismay and hastily suggesting ways to patch things up.

"It's not fine" Ace managed to slow his breathing down, suppressing more or less all of the anger that had poured into his system. He looked softly at Luffy "You _can_ tell me what upsets you very once in a while" he said gently, a lingering trail of irony in his words.

"I'm not exactly upset…" Luffy spoke uncertainly. He watched Ace carefully, almost as if he didn't think it were appropriate to speak to him. Ace fought not to roll his eyes.

"I thought I had made it very clear that you didn't have to worry about that creep anymore" He shot a sidelong glance at his younger brother, mouth twitching in a small grin. Luffy gave a giddy smile in response.

"I know"

"Well, I guess I'll have to let you wear that shirt then" Ace said blandly.

"Yeah you do!" Luffy beamed cheerfully "Can I sleep with Ace tonight too? Pleasee. Just tonight!"

That weird, oddly warm itch had started again. It was crawling under Ace's skin and in his stomach, blinding his reasoning. How degrading.

"Please, please, please, please, please, please-"

"Yeah, yeah ok, stop pestering" Ace said with a hand over his forehead. Luffy jolted excitedly and disappeared into his room, returning seconds later with his pillow and Ace's shirt under his arms.

"Let's go!" he chanted happily while marching to his big brother's room. Ace sighed. This was going to end terribly for him. He just knew it. He followed Luffy to his room and saw him glide into the bed ecstatically. Curiously, he was not wearing his shirt, but one of Luffy's own.

"What about that?" Ace questioned confused, pointing to his t-shirt hanging on a chair. Luffy glanced at it with a flat look and then turned to Ace again.

"I don't need it anymore" he said blatantly "I have Ace all to myself tonight"

Bad answer. Bad, bad, bad. Why must his mind torment him so? Why? Not just his mind… Ace's extremely dense little brother too with those insanely alluring words! Ace wanted to smack himself in the head. He mumbled a few patronizing sounds and put on his t-shirt. The worst part was just starting.

"It's been a while since we slept together, hehehehe" Luffy jeered with giddy giggles. Ace tired to remain calm and passive, working hard to shut his thoughts away.

"We're sleeping Luffy, not playing" he stated dully. Luffy groaned sadly beside him and fell loudly into his pillow. Ace ignored him and turned off the lights.

"Goodnight"

"'Niiight"

The room became silent, yet not still. The silence was oddly alive, excluded from deathlike ambience by the faint rustle of blankets and the slumbering inhaling and exhaling of light breaths. Ace was not yet asleep and he wondered if his little brother was as well. Could he be feigning sleep afraid of possible nightmares? Ace hesitated. If he turned around, he could be faced with one of several options. Worst-case scenario: Luffy would be awake and staring back at him creepily. Best-case scenario:… good question. He hadn't thought that far ahead, and wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to. Ah well. He was relatively sure that Luffy was asleep. There was a noticeable snore murmuring behind him.

Tentatively flexing his sleepy muscles, Ace slowly, gently manoeuvred himself around, twisting to lie on his stomach. Then he angled his head so that he could stare towards the centre of the bed.

Luffy was asleep; he had guessed correctly. Mouth ajar and eyes peacefully closed. Thick black locks spilled freely over his face, stark against the pale blankets. One fist clutched a handful of the sheets, as if afraid that someone would tug it away from him. Typical. But at last he was sleeping quietly, with no trace of haunting dreams. Ace smiled weakly, sleep debt fidgeting anxiously in the corner of his mind, and teased a strand of Luffy's hair away from his face. Then, as he finally succumbed to sleep a feeble hand came seizing the front of his shirt and it clung there throughout Ace's slumber.

* * *

AN: Thanks for the lovely reviews everyone. It was really fun to write Ace's thoughts this chapter! I hope you will continue to read. Thanks!


	3. Episode 3 Part I

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, the god of epicness Oda-sama does.

* * *

Family Affairs

Episode 3 Part I

* * *

Slanting streaks of light swarmed peacefully through the bedroom curtains next morning, glowing over two quiescent bodies resting ungracefully between messy sheets. The atmosphere was quiet, only punctured by the slow breaths and snores of the two brothers deep asleep. The unusual occurrence would have lasted the entire day, were it not Saturday and the two brothers Ace and Luffy. However, a loud bang on the door managed to interrupt Ace's slumber after a few dozen tries. He rolled over sleepily, half-apathetic half-angry, and allowed his eyes to drift open more fully. The consistent knocks on the door were becoming louder by the second. Ace wondered if the person in question intended to break it open.

Blinking muzzily, eyes slowly adjusting to the scant light in the room, he became aware of his little brother's lumbering presence at his side, drooling over his pillow. An unexpected shade of pink rose to his cheeks and Ace fought to drive it away. He really had to stop indulging Luffy's childish behaviours for his own good. Ace got up with yielding effort, stumbling slightly to the side, and stepped out of the room. It didn't amaze him one bit that Luffy was still asleep like a rock. Usually it took a few rough shakes to wake him up, sometimes kicks.

"Please open up!" a muffled voice called beyond the front door. Ace scratched his head lazily and mumbled.

"I'm going, I'm going"

He reached the knob and after unlocking it with the respective keys, he opened the door. Makino-san stood in the narrow corridor of the condo looking restless. Her hair was quite shrivelled, she had obviously run there, and her breath was irregular.

"Ace-kun…I…sorry" she said wearily "Did I wake you two up?"

"No, no, Luffy is still asleep" Ace said politely "What's the matter Makino-san?"

"Shanks-san was just here"

"What?" he exclaimed perplexed. Still partially asleep, Ace could not grasp the importance of the situation. What could Shanks possibly want? Even if he had not showed up for weeks, he could wait until later to deliver a message. It was common sense that people slept until noon on Saturdays. Ace was positively convinced of that.

"Yes, but he left already. He just stopped by to deliver a message to jii-san-"

"To Wood Slap?" Ace interjected "Why didn't he visit Luffy? You know how he worships him" the words tasted bitterly in his mouth and Ace felt like slapping himself for saying them.

"I know Luffy-kun will be disappointed, but what Shanks-san came to say is more important!" Makino said worriedly.

"What then?" Ace asked impatiently.

"Garp-san arrives tonight. His Marines ship anchor's at sunset"

There was a silent pause while Ace digested the words. Garp. Garp. Garp. Garp. He could only stare with eyes widened as far as physically possible. The beast was back.

"W-what? Tonight? He- That old bastard!" Ace wrestled with his words now completely awake and alarmed. Makino's words had filled him with an injection of awareness and consequently, fury.

"I know it's sudden, that's why I ran here as fast as possible" Makino said, hands clasped together over her chest.

"Thanks Makino-san. I-I have to g-go, excuse me" Ace stuttered, somehow confused. Makino nodded with her head and disappeared behind the door once it was closed. Ace stood petrified in his spot for a few moments, still not quite himself. The fact that Garp was back so suddenly had stricken him with horror. What the hell did the he have in mind this time? Obviously, Ace did not expect his visit until the end of the month, or possibly the end of the year, but that was just how unpredictable the old man was. Ace had to tell Luffy.

He took long heavy steps towards the bedroom, mind brimming with hasty thoughts, and then walked inside. The sight nearly made him choke. Right there, on Ace's side of the bed, was Luffy cuddled cosily snuggling his face in Ace's pillow and shifting to a curled position. There was a blissful, goofy smile plastered all over his face under the wild messy dark locks of hair. This sort of event often made Ace pretty speechless, but Garp's matter seemed to be jabbing painfully inside his skull, obstructing any kind of forbidden pleasure to enter his consciousness. Ace kneeled beside Luffy and shook him severely.

"Oi Luffy wake up" Ace called. The youth did not flicker an eyelid.

"Oi Luffy! Wake the hell up!!"

"…" Luffy mumbled a few incoherent words and rolled over.

"You idiot, don't turn away!" Ace grabbed his brother's shoulder fiercely and turned him over, flinching surprisingly at the view once again. Luffy was wearing probably the most drunkenly pleased expression ever seen in that household or the even whole neighbourhood. Ace's stunned stare locked in the unexpected expression, mainly on the parted lips which were letting slip away a few sounds.

"Aa…" Ace swallowed an invisible amount of saliva as his mind raced uncontrollably. He didn't have it in him to hear the rest, but his body refused to follow his brain. Thoughts of Garp bursting in with crazy plans didn't seem to affect him anymore for as much as he held on to them. He started to feel all the blood in his body rushing to his head.

"Ace…"

He didn't move. It was as if he had been frozen in time. His heart was in his throat, hammering so hard he was amazed it could actually maintain that speed. He had to snap out of it and quick. Luffy's breath was beginning to linger dangerously close to his own. With overwhelming sobriety Ace punched Luffy viciously, pouring some of his overall frustration into the punch. He deserved it for being so blunt anyway.

"OUCH! OI BASTARD! That hurt!" Luffy growled from the other end of the futon.

"It hurts every morning you idiot!" Ace shouted back, his blush now fading away.

"You didn't have to punch so hard! Besides it's weekend! And …I was having a nice-" Luffy stopped himself midsentence. His sleepy eyes met Ace's and widened open suddenly, followed by a soft flush. Ace's brain denied the reaction. Denied denied denied.

"Listen to me!" he said sternly "Makino-san was just here, she told me gramps is back" Luffy's embarrassed expression changed instantly into one of terror. His eyes expanded to the quadruple size and he could not help but scream.

"EEEEEHHHHHHH?!"

"I know!" Ace replied "If you want you can stay at Usopp's tonight or something, I'll stay here with him"

"No way, he wouldn't let me! Besides I'm not leaving you here with gramps!" Luffy retorted angrily "You'll be killed!"

"Don't overact idiot" Ace sighed.

"But-"

"He will arrive in the evening, so I suppose he is coming for diner _and_ staying overnight"

"I don't him to sleep in my room again. He snores too loud" Luffy complained with a pout.

"You snore loud too!"

"Do not!"

"Do so!"

"Do not!"

"Oi-"

Grumbling stomachs filled the air with starving sounds making both brothers grimace.

"Foooood…" Luffy mumbled before collapsing onto the futon feebly.

"Right. We'll discuss this later then, let's go" Ace said getting up from his kneeled position.

"Eh? Go where?" Luffy's voice queried slowly.

"Out to eat"

"Really?" the fumbling of blankets and sheets announced Luffy's departure from the comfy bed "To Sanji's?"

"Sure, why not?" Ace replied with a smile. Luffy nodded happily and ran out of the bedroom to change. Garp's arrival was temporarily forgotten.

"Oi, oi, you two eat like pigs you know?" Sanji said disapprovingly while placing another two bowls of rice in the messy table. Plates were pilling up everywhere and the white tablecloth was barely visible among all the crumbs, stains and whatnot.

"This is your breakfast right?"

"Iehmutizalredytym-"

"Don't talk with your mouth fool stupid!" Sanji snapped, slapping Luffy in the head. The latter shrugged and swallowed the enormous amount of food in his mouth.

"I was saying that it's already lunch time, so we skipped breakfast" Luffy explained happily. A vein throbbed in Sanji's forehead.

"Then wake up earlier asshole!"

"But it's Saturday…"

"Don't bother to pout!"

"Oi Sanji you asshole come over here!" Patty's voice called from the kitchen. The blond haired young man muttered a few curses and left Ace and Luffy's table angrily.

"I'm glad I came, I'm almost full" Luffy grinned. He then stretched his arm over to a plate of steak a few inches ahead; however, a menacing fork stopped him from retrieving the delicious looking meat halfway.

"Mine" Ace stated bluntly. Luffy glared.

"What? You've already eaten five, that's obviously mine!"

"You've eaten all the katsudon!"

"Of course I did. I need meat!" Luffy roared angrily.

"Wanna fight for it?!"

"Bring it on!"

"Oi, oi, oi what are you two doing?" Sanji hissed angrily "I leave you two alone with food and this is what happens?"

"It's his fault!"

"It's his fault!"

Both brothers pointed at each other accusingly and exchanged defying looks.

"Just pay and get your asses out of here before the shitty old man comes to nag about all the noise" the blond said curtly.

Luffy and Ace turned their heads with a loud "hmph". As usual, it was impossible not to come to a predicament when it came to delicious food. It was in their blood, just like their tendency to fall asleep at inappropriate times. Though, as they went their separate ways, it was in neither of their minds how imprudent it was to have one of their stupid fights the day Garp was arriving. The tension such presence required would double with their own childish resentment towards each other, but that concern was the last thing they could think about.

Ace returned home frustrated and bitchy, though glad that he could have the whole house for himself that afternoon. He would truly appreciate the peace and silence before the storm. Of course, he could have wandered very far from the spot, but knowing how uncivil and unexpected Garp could be, hanging around the house a couple of hours earlier was not a bad idea itself. It would save a lot of rambling and crappy speeches from the geezer and Ace really didn't have enough countenance if such were to happen. Moreover, he could never be too sure of Shanks's information since he did not spoke with the red-haired man himself.

As for Luffy, his feet led him unconsciously to Usopp's place, where he could vent his frustrations shooting beams at zombies with all the might in the world.

"Gaming all day won't change anything Luffy, nor will it make Garp go away" Nami said nonchalantly for the hundredth time. She sat next to Vivi on the sofa sipping tea. The two girls had come with the intent to help the boys with homework, but the latter were not the least bit interested. Killing zombie warriors seemed to be much more entertaining and Luffy was unusually eager to forget everything else. Not that he cared about half the problems the normal human being worried about.

"Who cares about that old man!" he muttered angrily, pressing the console buttons furiously "No way! Look at the size of that one! Are you serious?!"

"It's a level 77 idiot! Of course it's freaking big!" Usopp replied half-earnestly half-astonished.

Nami tightened her grip on the tea cup and felt a menacing vein begin to throb in her head. She wondered how she could cope with such kind of stupidity. Well, not exactly stupidity, but Luffy's simplicity mixed with his naivety really got on her nerves sometimes. She had known him since middle school and he hadn't changed a bit, not even in his demeanour towards his brother. He still clung to his family pillar stone like a young kid who never lets go. Though, it must be said, the older D. did not make things difficult either and enjoyed spoiling his little brother as the only family he had left in the rest world. It was a simple, whim-based dynamic that would not so quickly crumble to pieces. In fact, it just kept growing more and more intertwined and only those involved would be able to measure the affections in question.

Vivi, who sat silently beside Nami, noticed her troubled expression and poured more tea into her cup.

"Don't let them bother you Nami-chan, the game will end soon anyway" Vivi said calmly with a complacent smile. The other girl shook her head disapprovingly and sighed.

"Sorry, but it pisses me off. That little rascal is hiding something from me. I know it"

"Eh? Luffy-kun is?" Vivi queried mildly interested.

"Yes" Nami replied, and at her signal the two girls leaned back and lowered their voices so as not to be heard "You see, I think that it has something to do with that crazy family of his. He doesn't say anything so I can't be sure, and even when he told me everything was all right it just left me more worried. I'm really sick of it"

"You are a good friend Nami-chan" Vivi said nicely.

"I'm not so sure anymore"

"I think Luffy-kun and Ace get along fine. It must be something else"

Nami nodded with a heavy sigh though not resolute in dropping the subject yet.

"Well, their grandfather is coming today, so perhaps that is probably just it"

"Yes, but how come is it always so terrible?"

Vivi hadn't been around sufficient time to understand the complexity of Luffy's family nor their relationships. So it came to Nami to explain it as subtly and briefly as possible, for she did not have the power to decide who was allowed to prod into other people's business. In general, she mentioned how the two boys dreaded their grandfather from past childhood experiences and how the latter, until today, still did not end up in his grandsons' good side accounting for his extreme personality. As it was, the old man kept the habit of taking them in risky trips with the design of _supposedly_ prepare them for their marine training.

"So they are pursuing a marine career like Garp-san?" Vivi asked surprised.

"Not at all. Nojiko told me Ace plans to do something very different and as for Luffy… well, who knows what goes on in that head of his besides beams and takoyaki"

The two girls giggled at the remark but soon recovered their more serious posture.

"Your sister knows a lot about Ace-san then" Vivi said somewhat curiously.

"You could say that, but she just shares the same class as him, that's all" Nami replied.

"Really? Then Robin-senpai shares it too" Vivi reasoned chirpily.

"Yeah of course, by the way you know that guy…" the two girls quickly changed topic to other less interesting gossip and the evening flew away in this manner, girls chatting and boys playing games.

It was about half an hour since Nami and Vivi's departure that things got a little out of hand for Luffy though. The phone in Usopp's house began ringing nonstop and the boy saw himself obliged to answer.

"Don't you dare start it without me! I'll be back in a second" Usopp threatened and then he vanished from sight.

Luffy mumbled a few yeahs and stretched his arms, which had been constricted in the same position for hours. He took a deep breath and itches of worry swarmed in, making him recall Ace. Remnants of their previous argument revealed themselves in his brain and Luffy could not but sigh gloomily again. He wondered what his older brother could be doing at the moment. The thought of Ace waiting alone for Garp to ambush him triggered a squeeze in Luffy's chest and the urge to go back to his brother became overwhelming. Maybe it was time to go home.

He got ready to stand up but was interrupted halfway by Usopp who stood up at the doorframe of the room quite numb.

"What's up? Your face looks funny" Luffy said. A strange uncomfortable silence followed and soon Usopp replied.

"It was your old man"

Luffy paled at those words.

"He said he wants you home, _right now_" he added. Luffy gulped whatever amount of surprise had assembled in his throat and Usopp mimicked.

"He is going to kill me. I didn't know it was this late… what about Ace?"

"Dunno. I didn't hear a sound from the other end of the line apart from ossan's voice"

"Aah! Shit. I got to go!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Run you idiot!" Usopp yelled as the other put on his shoes quickly and sprinted to the front door.

"We'll finish that game some other time!" Luffy managed to say from the small lane in front of Usopp's house.

"Don't worry about it stupid! Just stay alive until Monday!"

"I'll do my best!"

Luffy ran as if his life depended on it, as if he was chasing after his soul. The damned geezer was so uptight with schedules and crap that Luffy did not even want to think about the future consequences. He only wished Ace was well and not sent to some faraway planet by now.

* * *

AN: Sorry I had to split this Garp-episode in two, but it would just become absurdly big and I didn't want too much development in a single chapter. I am pleased with "just enough". Aside from this, thank you so much for the lovely reviews, alerts and favourites. They undoubtedly keep me going, though I'm too stubborn to continue either way. Hehe. Please keep being the wonderful readers you are, thank you very much!


	4. Episode 3 Part II

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, the god of epicness Oda-sama does.

* * *

Family Affairs

Episode 3 Part II

* * *

Luffy stood before his front door petrified. It had never occurred to him that he could one day be afraid of stepping inside his own house, his personal temple of comfort with its special divinity included. Thus at the present time, he did not presume such possibility a fact, nor did he presume anything else much deeply.

The numbness in his legs completely caught him off guard as he stared at the door with dread. It wasn't Garp's presence inside that bothered him the most, Luffy was already too used to the old man's character to be _that_ surprised now. It was looking at Ace's face that disgruntled the chief of his being. He didn't know exactly why, but the feeling was there, only thinking about it pulled at his heartstrings. Unfortunately, he had to deal with it, liked it or not.

After mustering an affordable amount of courage, Luffy knocked at the door more feebly than he expected. He decided he had to do it sooner or later, and considering his grandfather's temper sooner would be better. Seconds trailed by and then following loud steady footsteps the front door slammed opened and revealed Garp's bulky figure. He looked just like he always did, with his prim broad chest demanding respect and the grey beard sculpturing his self-important smug.

"Finally my youngest grandson arrives!" Garp cried pleased. A voice from the back then resounded after his, coming from the depths of the house.

"Not so loud old man!" there was some anger attached to it and not even a bit of awareness towards its own degree of noise.

Luffy's heart fluttered unconsciously for a second while recognising Ace's voice. He was inside! Angry of course, as he always was when he had to put up with Garp, but still, he was really there! Since Usopp had informed him no other but Garp had been on the phone, Luffy had begun to worry if Ace had abandoned him to their grandfather after their fight. However, that casual, familiar scowl just now had brimmed Luffy with relief. At least he thought it was relief, but that didn't matter much to him anyway.

Meanwhile, taking advantage of Luffy's brief distraction, Garp swung his arm, ready to deal some justice to the situation. His punch hit Luffy right in the face and the younger D. stumbled backwards, ending up sprawled against the rail of the narrow hallway.

"It huuurts!!"

"It's your punishment for not coming to greet your grandpa on time!" Garp scolded earnestly.

"I forgot about it!" Luffy said defensively.

"You forgot? You forgot?" Garp stammered perplexed. There was a slight pause in his speech and then he delivered another blow on Luffy's head strictly "Is that what you say to your grandfather who came purposefully from Marine Headquarters to see his grandsons? HMM?"

"Damned geezer…it hurts oi!" Luffy muttered between gritted teeth.

"Call me grandpa!"

"Ossan!"

"Grandpa!"

CRASH!

A loud shattering noise echoed throughout the apartment. Garp and Luffy immediately looked backwards towards the source of the disturbance and locked their stares on the tiny hallway that led inside.

"What was that?" Luffy asked worriedly.

"It was probably Ace…" Garp mumbled, and then he strolled into the house. Luffy took his own time absorbing the words and consequent logic, and once his brain made the math he jumped to his feet.

"Ace?!" He rushed away, not even closing the front door behind him as he entered. He followed Garp to the living room and when he stepped in, his expectations and fear fell short, though he was kind of relieved. Ace was lying on the floor in a weird position, most likely surrendered to of one of his sleeping fits. Next to him were two fallen bowls shattered into small pieces.

"This boy, he will never lear-" Garp's sentence was left unfinished as he too succumbed to an unexpected surge of sleep. However, this time, it wasn't only two little bowls that were knocked in the process, the big nabe pot resting alluringly in the middle of the kotatsu was trashed to the floor as well, spilling its contents all over the tatami floor.

"NOOO!" Luffy bellowed. He hurried to the fallen ingredients with utmost care and, with his hands on his face as if holding the whole horror he scanned each and every one of them with dismay.

"My poor little meat! Tofu-chan! The udooon! Nooo! The meatballs! The meatballs! Another one here!" he turned to the surface of the table where most contents were still flowing down with the sauce and grimaced. "Don't think I'll let you all go to waste!" he stated to the inanimate pieces of food. Luffy grabbed the nearest set of chopsticks and the only bowl left undamaged and began picking the spoils at an unbelievable speed. Unfortunately, his blatant delight did not last long. Perhaps woken up by the sudden second crash, Ace's eyelids flickered and he soon sat up, quite dazed at first. When his gaze fell upon his relatives and the messy kotatsu table a new wave of rage ran through him.

"WHAT is this?!!!!"

Luffy, who had six chunks of meat in his mouth at the moment, did not stir. He looked at Ace with a mix of fear and anxiety, searching for any subtle consent to swallow. Regrettably, he was allowed none. Ace fiercely turned to Garp and kicked him on the stomach. The latter rapidly woke up from his slumber and took a moment to acknowledge the place he was in. After a few seconds he finally spoke.

"Aah~~ I fell asleep"

"Are you serious?!" Ace yelled in disbelief.

"Ace!! How dare you hit your elder!" the old man replied in a surprised earnest manner. Ace felt like fuming.

"How dare YOU destroy my beloved nabe!! It took me hours to make!" he cried furiously.

"What nabe- AH! Look at that! The nabe pot fell!!" Garp exclaimed as he looked at his left "Luffy you ungrateful child! Are you taking everything for yourself after others put so much effort into it?!" Garp snarled. He then picked up another set of chopsticks and started eating the spilled contents as well.

"What do you mean others?! I made it! And what effort are you talking about? The only effort you put into it was in destroying it, old man!" Ace reasoned. His patience had stretched to the limit.

"What the hell are you babbling about there, Ace? If you don't hurry up your brother and I will eat all of it!"

"Hmgnh!" nodded Luffy ungracefully. His mouth was overly full for him to be able to spell any coherent word.

Ace sighed. He looked at the stained tatami floor with grief and then to the two slobs leaning over the knocked nabe pot. When and why did he associate with such people he didn't know, in fact he didn't want any answer to that. Half the nabe dish was already sunk to the ground and while he roamed among such thoughts, the messiness of his household (which he so utterly disliked) was deliberately put on hold.

"Oi, I'm still hungry~~~" Luffy complained, slouched in his seat after all the edible food was eaten.

"We can eat the rice cakes I brought, bwahaha" Garp said with a loud laugh.

"Yeaah!" Luffy cheered, though by his side Ace glared at the old man with guarded apprehension.

"Are you sure? Last time we all had a bad trip to the hospital after eating the dango you brought" A bitter silence installed itself in the room and all three D.'s grimaced at the recollection of said memory. The look of the horrifying blue and orange dangos Garp had offered was enough to make them vomit, not to mention the taste.

"I don't want to visit the old hag any time soon…" Luffy mumbled to himself.

"Let's see those rice cakes" Ace said with a menacing voice. Garp complied and placed two small green boxes on the table. He opened the covers of both and put them aside. After this, all three peeked over the sweets. Inside each box were six colourful mochi some more elaborate than others.

"Hmmm…"

"The pink one looks nice" said Luffy greedily and instantly he reached his hand to the pastry.

"Don't even think about it!" Ace cut harshly, slapping Luffy's hand away "The one who is going to test them is old man over here" he said gesturing to Garp. The latter glared at his grandsons in response.

"What are you saying? Are you going to let your poor grandfather die of indigestion?"

"So they _are_ rotten!" Luffy said outraged.

"No, that's not what I meant" Garp said hiding a bit of embarrassment.

"You brought them, you eat them" Ace stated. Luffy nodded with his head.

"Very well then…" Garp gave a long stern look at the rice cakes and stiffened. He took a deep breath before grabbing one of them and then he brought it up to his mouth. However, wouldn't this be the D. family, everything went wrong afterwards. In a swift, agile reflex Garp thrust the mochi into Ace's mouth and shoved it down his throat. Luffy gasped in shock and Ace, in all his horror, tried to swallow the damned sweet between muffled coughs. Garp and Luffy assisted to the whole spectacle with awe and fear but never took their eyes from Ace. When he finally managed to swallow it down, Ace found himself gasping for breath.

"You damned geezer… I could have died!"

"But you didn't! I had trust in you my dear Ace!" Garp said proudly. Ace was too tired to retaliate.

"So, was it good? Can we eat them?" Luffy asked innocently.

"I don't know. I didn't taste anything strange"

"Yaay!"

"See, see! I was right, the rice cakes are-" Garp then abruptly stopped his speech. He stared intensively at Ace as if trying to uncover a deep secret. The other, who was still catching his breath, looked back at Garp confused.

"What?"

"I don't think you always had that rash" the elder said casually, eyeing Ace with a hand under his chin. Luffy too turned to look at Ace.

"Yeah, I don't think he had it before either"

"Rash? Where? Where?" Ace asked looking down to his own body. He glanced at his arms and lifted his shirt looking for any kind of oddity. Then a soft tender finger came to press down on his skin and Ace flinched.

"Right here" said Luffy, touching Ace's neck.

"Don't touch it Luffy! It can be contagious!" Garp warned him.

Ace touched his neck with his whole palm. While he processed the irritation on his skin and its rough surface, another part of his brain was absorbing with all efficiency as possible the brief, though welcome warmth of Luffy's finger on his collarbone. Unwillingly as it was, he could not help it. He had been separated from his brother for far too long. They had been apart for the whole day until dinner, and it bothered Ace to great extents. He wanted to deny it but Luffy's clinginess had spoiled him way too much. How could it be that even after spending the whole night closely embraced Ace still craved this much? He tried to dismiss such thoughts from his mind though to no avail. His usual rational self wasn't responding diligently as always.

"It seems they really _are_ bad" Garp said eyeing the rice cakes "Did you eat any Luffy?"

"No, but I was about to" he said sadly.

"Why must you always buy stupid rotten sweets? You're haunted" Ace muttered while scratching his neck furiously. Garp shook his head disapprovingly.

"Everything I do is to make you two fine marines! Be it buying rotten sweets or not!"

"Marines my ass! I told you already- ow!" Ace suddenly clung to his head "It hurts…" he whispered cowered on his knees. A strong jab was digging its way into his skull and he felt his temples close to exploding. The feeling of a splitting brain stopped momentarily only to return short afterwards.

"Headache uh? Hang in there, it'll pass" Garp said with a serious face.

"Oi Ace? Ace!" Luffy could only look at his brother with worry.

"It iches too…"

"Luffy don't let Ace scratch it, it will only get worse" Garp commanded.

"I think we should take him to the hospital…" Luffy said. He grabbed Ace's wrist and pulled his hand away from the nasty erupted skin. Nevertheless, Ace fought back and struggled against Luffy's grip, trying at the same time to pound some sense into his brain, though with the intermittent headache all seemed futile. He felt his eyes swell and soon the unexpected pain in his body became overwhelming, impossible to cope with. He gritted his teeth to prevent from yelling and seized his hair violently, as if wanting to pull it out. The rash on his neck was not going easy on him either. He wanted to scratch the flesh beneath and he didn't care if it bled. However, he didn't want to hurt Luffy amidst his discomposure and consequently, he gathered all the self-control possible to withstand his physical agony.

"Just take me there… please" he muttered barely capable of speaking. His restraint was sucking his strength to the limit. Garp consented.

"I guess I'll have to choose daikufu next time"

* * *

"You never change do you Garp?" Doctor Kureha's dry voice rang inside her small office with amusement. Ace was on the room next door being treated by Chopper and Luffy was there as well, being more annoying with his questions and worries than helpful.

"Every time you stop by I have to tend to those two kids. You're a mess you know? You should put all that fat to work since your brain doesn't seem to function" Kureha laughed.

"What fat? This is muscle, all muscle!" Garp said offended "And have you taken a look at yourself lately? I'm surprised you're still alive, 200 old baba!"

"WHAT?!" she screeched. The bottle of plume sake in her hand instantly flew away as she attempted to kick Garp in the face. Her feet missed its destination a few inches and she ended up hitting Garp's throat. He did not falter but felt obliged to bring his hands to his injured neck and massage the spot.

"Damned witch, always the butch…" he muttered to himself in a low voice.

"What did you say?!"

"Nothing, nothing…"

"Hmph! That's payback for Ace boy over there" she said coolly, picking up her fallen sake bottle.

"So, he will have to stay here overnight?" Garp asked now more seriously. Kureha glanced at the door that led to Ace's room and sighed.

"I'll also have to keep him here tomorrow. Chopper's doing all he can but I don't think Ace will get much rest at home with that brat over there"

"I'll leave him in your hands" Garp bowed slightly in thanks and walked up to the annex room "Luffy let's go. Ace is staying"

"What? Then I'm staying too!" he exclaimed loudly. Chopper who stood in a high bench next to him tapped his shoulder with his little arm.

"You can come and visit him tomorrow morning"

"No way! I'm staying right here!" Luffy pressed again more stubbornly. However, sharp medical objects suddenly flew his way glazing his cheeks softly with their speed. A minute of deadly silence followed, and Kureha threw him a dark, cold glare which he certainly did not return.

"You get your ass outta my ward and next time I won't miss" she hissed menacingly. Luffy gulped down obediently and nodded with his head.

"Good. Now get going annoying brat"

Garp who stood by the door frame smiled to himself and turned his back before vanishing from sight "I'm waiting outside Luffy", he added. Kureha shot the older man a befuddled look which made her spit an offended "Tsk", and proceed after him. Chopper tidied up his desk filled with small jars and utensils and later trotted behind Kureha waving goodbye to Luffy as he closed the door.

The latter waved back, rather perplexed, and then turned around to survey his brother. Ace was soundly asleep under numerous drugs given to him by the short doctor and his body was comfortably tucked inside the bed covers, except for his two arms who rested on the top mildly affected by the brute rash. It was in moments like this that Luffy felt his stomach filled with weird butterflies that fluttered about incessantly. He didn't understand why he became so nervous, but, seeing Ace's weak demeanour imbued him with a sort of calmness and resolve beyond measure. Obviously, part of him mourned sadly as if Ace's pain was his own, though in the absence of the latter's strong will and perseverance, Luffy felt like he had to replace them with his own and that was why he felt so compelled not to go back home. He had to stay here by Ace's side and take care of him as much as he could, even knowing he would be of scant help.

Luffy raised his hand to Ace's face and stroked his cheek. He was really glad everyone had left or this would be an extremely embarrassing scene to behold, he could acknowledge that much. Either way, his impulses kept getting the best of him and before he knew it, he was placing a soft kiss on Ace's forehead. It was an innocent affectionate enough gesture that barely had any impact on his current train of thought. However, his tender feelings froze not long after a startling interruption.

"What are you doing?"

Luffy's eyes met Ace's with distress, and although his swirling emotions were hastily boiling up, they couldn't quite catch up to whatever was going on inside his brother's stare. Nonetheless, being Luffy the dense, happy-go-around kind of person he was, he merely smiled and replied.

"It's a goodnight kiss"

* * *

"Ace my boy! How are you today?" Garp greeted cheerfully the next day. Ace nodded with his head, not prone to open his mouth.

"You know, we should change your name"

At this Ace's usual throbbing vein began nestling his irrational anger.

"What the hell are you rambling about this early?"

"Luffy kept mumbling your name the entire night in his sleep. I'm sick of hearing it! I need my rest too you know? Sheesh, children these days get so attached, I thought that I had raised you two to be independent little rascals, but it seems I missed something halfway. Well, you can't expect me to do everything. I suppose I'll have to talk to that Red-Haired chap soon. I don't want him spoiling my younger offspring like this, and that Whitebeard… oh! He is the same old rock! I called him yesterday to tell him about your ill condition and by the way, he is giving you this week off …"

Ace lost track of Garp's speech rather quickly, in fact, it didn't take much beyond the first five seconds to haze his thoughts away. Go figure.

* * *

AN: Ok, so now a little afterword for those who care. I intended to make this chapter a trip to an onsen but I failed miserably at it. To tell you the truth, as I kept writing away the story came up on its own and I had to leave my initial intentions aside. However, after finishing it, I think the chapter stands quite well as it is and gives off that In-Character D. family I wanted to show. Also, near the end I left Ace's thoughts to the reader's imagination. Feel free to speculate. Hehe. Also, thanks so much for all the reviews, favourites and alerts. They touch my heart as much as the D. brothers do! Thank you!


	5. Episode 4

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, the god of epicness Oda-sama does.

* * *

Family Affairs

Episode 4

* * *

The school's rooftop was cheerfully crowded by Luffy and his friends during lunch break. Having such a wide and spacious place for Luffy to munch all he wanted was always a comfort for those who avoided unwanted attention and who most of the time could not handle the mindless behaviour of the airhead, especially Nami and Vivi. Nevertheless, the two girls were currently more distracted with gossip talk than worried about any of the boys around them. Luffy's offensive eating had been easily ignored, Usopp's never-ending bragging totally indifferent and Zoro and Sanji's fight might as well have been non-existent. However, it would have never crossed Nami or Vivi's minds that their innocent girlish disclosure was being mildly overheard by Monkey D. Luffy. Obviously it was not something intentional since he cared about nothing in the entire world except a small handful of things, but because the revealing dialogue concerned one of those few things Luffy indeed cared about, he could not help but eavesdrop.

"Oh that new girl with the …hair?" Luffy heard Vivi reply excitedly to Nami.

"Yeah that one. Robin told me she just entered their class now"

"But we are in the middle of the school year!"

"I know!"

"So, she is after Luffy's older brother?" Vivi whispered discreetly so as not to call the younger D's attention, yet it was to no avail. Luffy was already way too sensitive about their conversation.

"It seems so, Nojiko said she works at the same part-time…"

"Oi! Luffy! Are you listening to me? That guy then- Oi!" Usopp's loud shouts distracted Luffy momentarily.

"Yeah yeah…" Luffy mumbled more dismissively than he intended. Fortunately, Usopp did not seem to mind his nonchalant demeanour. He kept rambling on and Luffy shoved another bowl of rice down his throat before leaning back slightly to overhear more of the girls' chat.

"…oh, that's where she must have met Ace-san" Vivi stated wisely. Nami nodded with her head.

"Surely, but she is in his class too so it doesn't make a big difference"

"Of course it does! …not only are they together during school but also _outside_" Vivi said putting an emphasis on the last word. Luffy's heart seemed have been pierced by a giant sharp object after such retort. His train of thought was totally out of control, more than the habit suggested, and the disconnected parts of the conversation were not helping him cope with the information one bit. Anyhow, the most disgruntling thing of all was the fact that this was all being kept secret and Luffy just didn't have it in him to face the girls and ask them about the subject head on. For some reason he simply could not talk to them about it. Lately, anything about Ace was bordering the embarrassing and knowing Nami, she would probably get strange ideas about the topic if Luffy intervened.

"I don't think they are dating" Nami suddenly blurted out, interrupting Vivi who had been digressing for a while. The word "dating" struck Luffy with a unique sense of anger that had not washed over him recently.

"You never know… give it time and…"

His rare display of discomposure was deafening his own ears. Luffy could barely stay focused on what to think. In fact, his thoughts were the thing horrifying him the most. Ace had a girlfriend? Since when? Why hadn't he heard anything about it? Luffy chewed on his lunch with rage. What the hell?

"What's her name again?" Vivi queried.

Luffy's breath halted as he waited for an answer. If he at least knew the girl's name he could go over to his brother's university and take a glimpse at her. He could go unleash a bit of his frustration and do _something_ about it.

"I think it is Bo-"

"OI LUFFY! You haven't been listening to a word I said, have you?!" Usopp's outburst ruined Luffy's chance to learn the girl's name.

"Shut up! I was concentrating!!" Luffy yelled back angry.

"Yeah? On what idiot?!"

"Something! I was thinking!"

"Hahahaha!" Usopp laughed amused "You thinking? Don't joke with me! If you can think now, why didn't you think when we were playing Master Beamer III the other day?! We lost to that damn Kaku from class B!"

"It was his nose! Not my fault!" Luffy replied automatically.

"Have a problem with big noses eeeh, monkey glutton!?" Usopp asked threateningly.

"Have a problem with monkeys eeeehh?!"

"Aaaah?!"

"Aaaah?!"

"SHUT UP IDIOTS!" Nami cried frustrated. Luffy and Usopp averted gazes and went back to eating the rest of their lunches in silence. Luffy in particular ate with all his might trying to erase his brain in the process. He didn't want to think about anything, hear anything or know anything. The stupid thing was eating his insides.

"Oi Luffy let's go! The bell's ringing" Nami called from the rooftop's exit door half an hour later.

"Oh, right…" Luffy replied still thoroughly numb. He passed by the red haired girl quietly and unassuming. However his internal turmoil did not slip by Nami.

"Is everything OK?" she asked eerily. Luffy didn't turn back to answer. He simply threw her a casual reply.

"What are you talking about? Of course everything's not OK! We lost Master Beamer yesterday!"

* * *

After school Luffy planned to run home. He wanted to shut himself in his room, see no one and talk to no one. Not even Ace would be able to calm him down this time. In fact he would probably just make it all worse accounting for the seemingly innocent cause of Luffy's distress. Obviously, there was a taunting need, a pressing desire to go to Ace's university and see proof with his very own eyes but Luffy didn't even know the girl's name. He could not burst in and go berserk on every female in sight with the sole purpose of venting out some anger, not that he lacked the guts to do so, he simply would end up troubling a lot of people including his brother and that was the last person Luffy wanted to deal with at the moment. Hence, he did has he planned and rushed out of the school building alone, successfully detaching himself from Usopp and Zoro by the lockers. However, not long after he reached the front gate, a firm strong grip caught hold of his shoulder.

"Luffy I need a favour" Nami's sweet pleading voice startled Luffy to death. He turned around as casually as possible and smiled back at her weakly.

"What do you want?" he asked, though it sounded more like "_What can I do for you to leave me alone?"_

"Bellemere gave me these oranges this morning" Nami said dangling a plastic bag in front of his face "I was supposed to deliver them to Robin but I told Vivi I would go to her house today after school. Could you deliver them for me? I know you're free" she added cunningly.

"Eeh? But isn't your sister in Robin's class? This is troublesome…" Luffy complained with a pout. He scratched the back of his head reflexively and Nami scowled. Needless to say she didn't like to see her requests being denied.

"Nojiko left earlier so Bellemere gave them to me" she explained bitterly. Luffy remained silent while pondering the horrifying idea of going over to his brother's school.

"So?!" Nami pressed impatiently.

"Ok, ok, I'll go!" Luffy agreed, more fearful than willingly. The red haired girl handed him the bag of oranges and Luffy put it around his neck stubbornly.

"Don't go running around like that! You'll spoil the oranges" she chided.

"It's fine, it's fine" Luffy reassured absent-mindedly. Nami shrugged her shoulders and sighed.

"Thanks Luffy, see ya tomorrow then"

"See ya! Oh, by the way, where's Robin?"

"At school of course! Don't you know your own brother's timetable idiot?! They're the same!" Nami sneered. She waved her hand in the distance and afterwards disappeared shortly behind a corner.

"As if I knew that, idiot…" Luffy mumbled to himself depressed. He turned around somehow yielding and started walking shyly towards the university buildings. There was a certain anxiety tickling underneath his skin that was driving him slightly mad, nevertheless, he could not back out now. He wasn't a quitter by nature either. It seemed that fate was pulling all the right strings to send him to the place he dreaded the most. The confusion in his mind didn't allow him to understand which thing he feared the most and most importantly, why he feared anything to begin with. That irrational anger that had struck him earlier was also ready to swarm in any time soon and Luffy cursed. He cursed the whole damn world because he didn't know what or who to curse particularly. Nami and Vivi's conversation at lunch, or whatever he had managed to hear of it, was jabbing at his mind constantly and consequently, the will to find out more about Ace's supposed girlfriend grew more and more intense.

"I could ask Robin…" Luffy thought to himself. He kept reflecting deeply on the subject, as much as his simple and dense mind enabled him to, though when he entered the university campus his concentration lost itself forever. Instinctively, his eyes and senses began browsing every centimetre that came into sight and the bag of oranges hanging loosely on his neck seemed to raise some attention towards him as well. A familiar face rapidly hurried to greet him.

"Luffy-kun?"

Luffy turned to meet the young woman.

"Ah!! Nojiko!!" he shouted surprised.

"What are you doing here? Looking for Ace?"

"N-no of course not!" he stammered "Nami asked me to bring some oranges for Robin"

"Oh she did?"

"Yeah, because you didn't bring them!" Luffy reminded her irritated. Nojiko smiled apologetically in return.

"I'm sorry Luffy-kun"

"Anyway, where's Robin?"

"I think she was talking to Boa back there…" Nojiko said carelessly. The sudden name amidst her speech paralyzed Luffy. He remembered Nami talking about a Bo-something girl.

"W-who?"

"Boa. Boa Hancock. It's a new girl that just entered our class, she's really something! All the guys in the campus are head over heels for her" Nojiko said rather fiercely.

"Right… where are they then?" Luffy replied quickly. The words were puking out of his mouth, he wanted to patch things up and leave.

"Hmm, last time I saw them they were-"

"Luffy?" an elegant female voice interrupted them happily. Robin's tall well-built figure emerged behind Nojiko with a big smile.

"Robin!"

"It's a surprise to see you here. How have you been?" she asked politely.

"Great, I-"

"What's this?" a second girl appeared beside Robin. She was about the same height as Luffy's elegant friend and her hair was also longer and darker. She had light blue eyes and very beautiful features. Around her neck she wore a long scarf that resembled a snake, including the pattern. Luffy looked at her perplexed but as soon as Robin began introducing the girl his awe turned into contempt immediately.

"Sorry Boa-san, this is a friend of mine, Ace's younger brother Luffy" Robin said gently pointing to Luffy. Boa threw him a harsh cold stare and he welcomed her in the same fashion.

"This is Boa Hancock, she's-"

"Yeah I know about her" Luffy almost spit the words out "I don't care one bit, just take this" he said to Robin angrily, proceeding to take the bag of oranges from around his neck "and goodbye."

Nojiko and Robin looked at him surprised. It was pretty strange to see Luffy acting unfriendly towards people, especially girls. He was probably the most docile creature in the entire world and watching this awkward rudeness was simply shocking. However, they didn't have knowledge of his current inner turmoil; they didn't have any idea of the boiling jealousy running through his veins.

"Luffy-kun is everything alright? You seem upset" Nojiko remarked worriedly. Luffy brushed her concern aside and handed the oranges to Robin.

"Here" he told her. Robin took the bag in her hands and stared at him silently.

"Do you want me to call Ace for you? You actually came here to see him, didn't you?" she said compassionately. Her tone of voice flared Luffy's frustration even more.

"No! I don't want to see him!"

"Are you fighting?"

"No!"

"I suppose-"

"You really don't have any manners, do you?" Boa interjected coldly. Luffy's embarrassed expression instantly changed into one of rage.

"What did you say Snake girl?!"

Boa's eyes widened with perplexity. It was obvious she did not expect to be challenged or defied in this way.

"Who are you calling Snake girl?! This is outrageous!"

"You're the one walking around with a dead snake on your shoulders!"

"W-what?" she exclaimed. Boa raised her hands to her face in shock.

"Yeah you heard me!"

"Luffy…" Robin tried to stop their argument but she didn't now how to approach this unusual over-sensitive Luffy.

"Who do you think you are little kid?"

"Don't call me kid, old hag!"

"HAG? Who are you calling an old hag?!" Boa's voice hit such a high pitched tone that all the students in the vicinity turned their heads towards them.

"I-I can't believe this!" she stuttered "You-you… you idiotic little-"

"What's going on over here? I thought I heard someone screaming…" the cool overly familiar voice of Ace felt like icy water running down Luffy's back. He wanted to hide in the nearest hole available.

"Ace! I'm glad you're here" Nojiko said loudly calling the older D. towards their spot.

"Nojiko?"

"Yeah, come, come! Luffy is-" Nojiko turned around to survey the younger brother but as soon as she laid eyes on him he was already meters away.

"OI! You coward! Come back here!" she shouted after him, but Luffy was out of sight by the time she noticed his inaudible reply.

"What was he doing here?" Ace wondered out loud. He stood next to Nami's sister quite confused, gazing at his brother's trail.

"He came to deliver those oranges to Robin" Nojiko explained motioning to the bag in Robin's hands.

"But he seemed very indisposed" Robin added.

"Yeah he was acting strange" Nojiko nodded.

"Really? He was fine this morning"

"But he was lashing out at Boa here, that's not related to _fine_ in any way!" Nojiko told him in a scolding manner. Ace bowed slightly and approached Boa.

"Oi, are you OK? Sorry my brother must have hit his had somewhere he is not like this usually, I-"

"Wh-what was his name again?" Boa asked out of the blue. Her stare was locked somewhere in the horizon, in a place none of her companions were able to see. Ace blinked twice puzzled by the abrupt question.

"Luffy" he answered.

"Luffy, Luffy what?"

"Monkey D. Luffy" Ace told her again. She took a deep breath and then turned to the three befuddled students around her. Her eyes bore an unprecedented glimmer and her cheeks were slightly flushed.

"I… I think I'm in love"

"WHAT?" the other three cried with dismay.

* * *

_What the hell? _Ace's ears must have been playing tricks on him, most definitely. He found himself mentally grinding Boa's foolish outcome the entire way to his part-time job. He could barely believe it. How come she was suddenly in love with Luffy? She had to be crazy. And why the hell did he care? Luffy probably wouldn't even notice her and he wasn't any good with those emotional matters either, so Ace really didn't have anything to worry himself about. Yet, Boa's sudden attachment wasn't easy to swallow altogether. It was hard to admit but sharing Luffy with other people was always a hassle. It only proved how sickly close the two of them had become, though Ace didn't dislike that, on the contrary, he wanted to preserve that bond for as long as possible. It was brotherly love, what was wrong about it? Only brotherly love, only that…

"You're late today" Marco stated bored.

"Sorry, it was-"

"Your brother, right? We can figure out that much, hahaha" Thatch said with a laugh. The blonde passed by them carrying two heavy boxes and then disappeared. Ace smiled weakly in response but felt a certain degree of embarrassment creep him up. Being so easily read was something he couldn't be proud of.

"You should hurry up and change. _She_'s already here" Marco deadpanned earnestly.

"Wha-? Shit!" Ace ran to the small locker room and minutes later returned to the warehouse's entrance. Marco was still there, glancing around suspiciously.

"And?" Ace whispered.

"I saw her going to Moby Dick's back storage"

"Then I'm going the opposite direction" Ace told him determined.

"Ok, good luck"

Ace gave Marco a silent thumbs-up and sprinted out of sight.

Moby Dick was the giant warehouse where Ace worked. He and his colleagues all worked for old man Whitebeard who was the big shot around the area. The work environment was close to perfect for someone like Ace who spent his whole life worrying about his little brother. He could vent all his frustration on the physical strain and sometimes talk about it with Marco, who one had become one of his best friends. However, a startling recent development had transformed this personal heaven into hell and the new female employer named Jewellery Bonney was the main cause. She was a pink haired devil who not only shared the same job with Ace but also attended the same school. She was the plague. Totally in love with him regardless of the constant turn downs he gave her. Fortunately they had different classes and thanks to Boa Hancock's coincidental arrival into Ace's class, Bonney's chances for romantic advances had become pretty slim at school. Everyone in his class was constantly surrounded by people asking questions about the absolutely stunning new girl and thus, Ace was certain to never be left alone at the mercy of devious Bonney. Yet, this immaculate situation could not be applied at work. There he had to keep alert and hidden so as to avoid her completely. Although, she seemed to pop out of nowhere every time Ace thought he was safe.

"Ace! Good timing!" Jozu's deep rough voice called him from nearby "Come here and help me with this"

"Yeah sure-"

"Aceeeee-kunnn~~~~"

A chill ran through Ace's spine.

"Sorry Jozu, gotta run! I told Thatch I was giving him a hand today!" Ace excused himself. A pink blur was approaching quickly in the distance.

"But Thatch's shift is almost ov-"

"Yeah, yeah I know! Bye!"

"Jo-chan, where's Ace? I thought I saw him here" Bonney asked outraged once she reached Ace's previous spot. Jozu sighed before grimacing.

"I don't know what's on that kid's mind…." He muttered whole-heartedly. Bonney scowled and crossed her arms in a childish fashion.

"You sound like an old man Jozu"

* * *

"I'm home…" Ace announced tiredly as he closed the front door of the apartment behind him. His drained senses met absolute silence fact which surprised him slightly.

"Luffy? You there?"

Ace took off his shoes and walked up to the living room. He slid the door open and met an empty room.

"Oi Luffy? I'm home!" he called again. A soft yawn was heard from the corridor and Ace stepped back to take a glimpse at Luffy's bedroom door. Standing between the frame and the door was a sleepy looking Luffy staring hazily into space.

"Were you sleeping?" Ace asked in disbelief.

"Mhum…hum…" Luffy mumbled with a nod of his head.

"What about homework? Did you even take a shower?"

"My head hurt…" Luffy replied lazily.

"I bet it did, what was wrong with you treating Boa like that?!" Ace scolded angrily. He didn't mind the fact that Luffy had treated her harshly, because, given the circumstances, Ace didn't care much about her either, but who knew if Luffy's rash behaviour hadn't been the origin for Boa's fondness? The idea irritated Ace severely.

"It was her fault" Luffy said averting his gaze.

"Don't make excuses Luffy. At least apologise to her tomorrow" Ace warned him calmly, though the advice seemed to flare Luffy's anger.

"Will NOT!" he blurted out wide awake. Ace was taken aback by the sudden change in mood. Robin and Nojiko had been right he was definitely not fine.

"What's the problem?"

"I'm not apologising to her!" Luffy repeated.

"Why not? I know she may seem unpleasant, but if you apologise she-"

"I don't care! I'm not apologising to Ace's girlfriend, and I don't care!" Luffy shouted angrily and then he shut himself inside his room once again. Ace was left standing in the corridor with pure shock. Had he missed something? What was going on?

"Hey, Luffy what's with that story?" Ace asked anxiously knocking on his brother's bedroom door.

"Open up, let's talk about this"

"I don't want to! I'm going to sleep!" Luffy's muffled voice yelled from inside.

"Don't be stupid, get your ass in here!"

"Go away idiot Ace! Leave me alone!"

"Not until you tell me what the hell you were talking about!" Ace bellowed, his anger catching up with his worry.

"I know about Ace's girlfriend, don't act like a dumb monkey!" Luffy replied louder. He was definitely glued to the door on the other side.

"Bonney isn't my girlfriend! How did you find out about her-"

"Bonney?" Luffy repeated stoically. An awkward pause followed the break in the heated discussion. Ace gulped. What could that airhead be thinking? And how did he come to the conclusion Boa liked him? It was ridiculous! Ace's hasty current of thought was brought to an abrupt halt as Luffy's bedroom door opened up with a jolt. The wooden surface hit Ace straight in the face and he fell backwards.

"Luffy you idiot! Watch that door!" he yelled. Yet Ace's complaints were not heard. Not in the least. Luffy lunged at him fiercely and headbutted him with all his might deepening the pain.

"Two?! Two girlfriends? You fiend!!!" Luffy cried out loud "You're even cheating on that Boa girl?!"

Perhaps it was the pain, perhaps it was his own mixed feelings propelling everywhere… either way, Ace felt like exploding. Seeing Luffy like this damaged his soul and angered him to lengths unheard of.

"What the hell are you talking about idiot?!"

"It's your fault stupid!"

"You're really pissing me off now!"

"Oh yeah? You're pissing me off even more!"

"Shut up! I'm not listening to more of your crap talk!" Ace yelled. He pushed Luffy aside with a strong shove and got up.

"Fine!" Luffy replied stubbornly.

"Fine!"

"I'm not speaking to you ever again idiot!"

"Neither am I!"

Luffy shut the door of his room with a loud BAM and Ace entered the bathroom in the same fashion. He threw his clothes to the floor with all the strength he could muster and then turned on the water tap. He needed a bath to put his thoughts in order. With Luffy it was always his emotions commanding his actions.

"Damn him and his stupid head…" Ace muttered furiously. He just could not understand how the freaking day had turned out. First that unbearable Boa, than that annoying Bonney and now Luffy going berserk? What was happening in the world? Had everyone gone crazy and left him as the solely sane individual on earth?

"Shit no…" Ace slid inside the bathtub and let the hot water scald his skin along with his irate mind. He stretched his back and slouched further down the tub, allowing the water to graze his chin.

"Damn him… idiot"

Eternity flew by in quietude and when Ace was about to fall asleep in his comfortable position loud footsteps startled him.

"Hm?"

"Yooooooshh!"

Ace's eyes widened with shock as Luffy rushed inside the bathroom and jumped into the tub. The splash sent water flying everywhere and a big wave overflowed to the floor.

"W-what are you doing?" Ace didn't know if he should act angry or embarrassed. It ended up being a mixture of both. Luffy's naked body touching his was a very disturbing matter, making it impossible for him to think straight.

"I don't want you to be mad at me. I came asking for forgiveness" Luffy begged.

Ace blushed. It was difficult to come up with an answer while trying to untangle their legs underwater. A deep flush was threatening to dye his whole skin red.

"Oi, Acee~~ Are you hearing me? Ace!" Luffy shook his brother's shoulders to get his attention.

"Alright, alright, just get out of the tub!" Ace replied somewhat in panic. Luffy obviously did not understand the older D.'s distress.

"What's with that? You're ignoring me again!" Luffy said slapping the water's surface.

"Go wash yourself over there! I'm taking a bath now!"

"Can't do. I'm taking a bath as well" Luffy said annoyingly.

"We'll talk later just-"

"You're still angry at me"

"No I'm not, I-"

"Really?"

"Yeah" Ace nodded. He truly wanted to get out of this entanglement. Luffy was too close, too naked, too vulnerable.

"Really really?"

"Really"

"Yaay! I'm so relived!!!"

Before Luffy made any movement Ace already regretted having said anything. The younger brother threw his arms around his neck and hugged him happily. It was more than certain that Ace was hyperventilating by now, trying to cope with the uncontrollable beating of his heart and the blissful closeness between the two of them.

"Not only do we sleep together, we take baths together as well. Hehe" Luffy said with a dorky giggle. Ace coughed and tried to block the unwanted alluring thoughts haunting his brain. In their current situation it would be very risky to venture down that way.

"Don't "hehe" me!" he managed to reply "Turn around, I'll wash you back"

"Yeeesss Ace-sama!"

"Shut it"

* * *

AN: Finally done! I'm sorry for taking a while to update this. I got too distracted with another fic. Please forgive me dear readers! Thanks for all the reviews and favourites and alerts. I'm entering college now so please be patient with future updates. I'll try my best! R&R


	6. Episode 5

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, Oda does.

* * *

Familly Affairs

Episode 5

* * *

The day which enacted Luffy's startling disclosure dawned cloudy. There was no threat of rain but there was no premise of sun either, not even a glimpse of blue sky. The Earth's ceiling was destined to be painted gray though, metaphorically speaking, the weather did not in any way mirror Luffy's temper. His life was back on track with no complications relating his brother or his friends. The strange chain of turmoil that had sprung up not even a week ago was downright forgotten. All was right in the world once again, such as the future of a hero foretells. Notwithstanding, a few troubles were ready to pop along Luffy's way. He was just a few hours away from the fall. The place where the trigger was to happen was his school, fact which immediately justifies why it could not be prevented. The event was quite a meant-to-be given the circumstances, and, even if it did _not_ happen, Luffy would _eventually_ come to the conclusion it was going to produce.

After parting ways with Ace, Luffy entered the high school gates and met Usopp by the front steps. They walked inside while chatting about the stupidest thing ever and after changing their shoes they headed for their classroom. There they met Zoro, already asleep on his desk and producing a prodigious pool of drool, and a few meters away from him were Vivi and Nami. The red haired girl instantly waved at them and gestured Luffy to come closer. Usopp, who stood next to him, gulped.

"We only just arrived and you're already doomed? I'll pray for you, my comrade" he said to Luffy resting a hand on his shoulder. Luffy nodded a silly grunt and approached Nami.

"You know, I'm beginning to tire myself of this delivery deal" she said with a furrowed eyebrow. Nami turned around in her chair to pick up something and then placed it on top of her desk. It was a bento-lunch box wrapped in a nice flower-pattern cloth.

"I still can't believe that crazy story Nojiko told me… that Boa girl must be really cuckoo up in the head to cook you all these bentos every day. And you were unbelievably rude to her as well. It's a wonder Ace didn't make you apologize to her- Do you remember my sister telling you that story Vivi? When you visited last weekend?"

"Of course. But, I can understand. She fell in love with Luffy-kun at first sight, how cute" Vivi replied with a giggle. Nami could not but glare at her friend. She could barely begin to understand the concept of falling in love with that rubber-brain idiot.

Luffy picked up the bento with a grin.

"Have you even thanked her for that?"

"Who, Snake-girl?"

"Yes! And it's not Snake-girl, moron! Boa! Call people by their names!"

"I don't remember her very well, but sure! The next time I see her I'll give her a big thanks. These bentos are really good!!" Luffy said pleased. He was truly thankful for the delicious lunches, though he didn't know why the Boa-girl sent them. Now that all the misunderstandings had been cleared up, he would certainly have no problems with meeting her again.

"I still don't get why she asks Nojiko to give them to Luffy" Nami kept rambling "I mean, I'm the one who ends up doing all the work and, if she likes Luffy so much, wouldn't giving him the bento-boxes be a good excuse to see him? Tsk, I really don't understand college students… I thought they were supposed to be mature!"

"She's a girl in love, maybe she is shy" Vivi tried to rationalize, yet her argument did not prove itself valid. Nami was on a hateful ranting roll, thus unstoppable.

"Shy! How shy?! As far as I know, she sure had a sharp tongue! If that had been me instead of idiotic Luffy here I would have told her some!" Nami said clenching her fist. Vivi sighed kindheartedly and shot a glance at the clock above the blackboard.

"It's already ten minutes past the class hour, where could Smoker-sensei be?"

"Filling those lungs with putrid smoke of course" Nami retorted annoyed.

Luffy was back to his seat with his new bento. He placed it next to the one Ace prepared and slouched happily in his seat daydreaming about his anticipated lunch hour. Usopp, who sat in front of him, turned around to chat while the teacher remained absent.

"- and I was just about to turn a corner when I met Chopper. The old hag had asked him to go to Franky's to buy a few wood boards, who knows what she wants to do with those- anyway, I offered him some help but when we got there Franky was nowhere in sight. I called those two funny sisters that help him now and then but they were not inside either. We walked around his shop for a while and even peeked inside a window to his workshop. Nothing. We rang Kokoro-san's bell next door and you won't believe who was there!"

"Who? Chimney and Gonbe?"

"No, dunce! They are always there! I mean Iceburg! Iceburg!"

"Eeeehhh!!!" Luffy said surprised "He still has that mouse?"

"Who cares?! Can't believe you still remember that…"

Luffy was about to make another random question when the classroom door opened. An awful smell of cigarettes instantly spread throughout the room, though it did not belong to their very late teacher. A mop of blonde hair nullified that premise. Sanji slid the door close behind him with unnecessary brutality and moved towards his seat. Most of the students in the class ignored him since they were already used to the blond' strange temper, yet, Usopp could not help himself a comment at the sight of his friend.

"Something happened with Sanji? I never saw him so grumpy"

"Dunno" was Luffy's simple answer.

"I've seen him furious many times, but what could have happened this time? He should quit his part-time job if it bothers him that much…" Usopp digressed away.

Luffy was too enthralled with his upcoming lunch hour to worry about anything else. He had faith in his friend and believed, as he always did, that by the next break Sanji would be already dancing around and flirting with girls. _Not to worry_, he told himself. Nevertheless the break came and Sanji was sulking in a corner. He didn't even get up from his seat. Nami pressured Usopp to make an approach but it didn't do much. When Usopp returned he shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

"What did he say?" Nami asked. They were reunited by Luffy's table, which was best positioned to survey Sanji's spot.

"Nothing. He just grunted something when I asked if he was ok"

"Tsk. You're useless, now you go Luffy. Go on, go on. Quick!" Nami urged. She poked Luffy's shoulder but he complained before standing.

"Why me? He's not going to say anything new… you go!"

"Yeah, you go Nami. Sanji's a different human being if it's you" Usopp agreed with a nod.

The three began arguing heatedly. Nami refused to go because she believed Sanji would just flatter her and say not one thing seriously. Luffy was too sluggish to go and thought Sanji was perfectly fine. Usopp was trying to back up Luffy and convincing Nami to go. When their discussion began reaching unbelievable loud levels one person brought them to silence. Involuntarily apparently. Zoro's head lifted up with amazing speed. He might have woken up from a bad dream. He looked around, scanning his surroundings and then stared at them.

"It's morning already?"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" was Nami and Usopp's raging reply.

Zoro ignored their reaction and scratched his head. He stretched his arms and then looked at the clock. His nonchalant face was not taken by surprise. Missing a class sleeping was a trifle to the marimo head.

"Hey listen…" the three friends began whispering with each other while shooting weird glances at him. Zoro frowned.

"What are you mumbling about? Uh?" he asked annoyed.

"Oi Zoro! Come here!" Usopp called. Zoro lifted a curious eyebrow and proceeded to get up from his seat. He was about to stretch his legs completely when another loud noise interrupted them. Sanji left his place and sped out of the room with such speed that some people even had to rub their eyes to make sure they saw something move.

"What's up with him?" Zoro wondered with a tinge of irritation.

The group standing by Luffy's desk sighed.

It was only during lunch break that most of the mystery was solved, at least for those who were lucky, or unlucky, enough to presence the following event. Luffy was a sure bystander. He was wandering around the corridors looking for Usopp when he caught a glimpse of him near the stairs to the rooftop.

"Ah, there he is… OI! Usopp! Wait a minute! I want your leftovers! OI!" Luffy yelled.

When he got to the stairs he peeked up. There was not a shadow climbing towards the roof. Luffy pouted. Could his friend have gone down to the first floor? Luffy peeked down. There were a couple of students moving about but no sigh of Usopp. _Hmmm_, Luffy deliberated for a moment and decided to go up to the rooftop. He could not think of any reason why Usopp would go down to the first year's floor so up he went. He quickly reached the final landing and opened the door outside. He heard some shouts and looked around for their source.

"Usopp?" he wondered out loud.

No one answered him. Luffy stood by the doorframe calmly trying to discern the voices. They were quite familiar. Both rough and angry. Luffy took a step forwards, as if trying to catch more, yet all came into view when Zoro and Sanji's frames appeared from the right side of the rooftop. They were obviously fighting, with a few scratches and wounds plastered on their features. Luffy sighed. He had lost count to the times he had tried to put an end to one of their fights and got himself injured. Ace always scolded him after that and bandaged his bruises.

"Here we go…" Luffy muttered. He began walking up to the two hoodlums but they were awkwardly unaware of him. Zoro punched Sanji in the gut, propelling him backwards and they disappeared from Luffy's sight once again. A water tank blinded Luffy's vision.

"Damn" Luffy picked up his pace and went around the tank, yet, when he finally found Zoro and Sanji's figures they were no longer brawling like before, rather the opposite. Zoro was kissing a very shy and blushing Sanji that was wrestling to get out of the marimo's grip.

Luffy immediately stepped back. He hid himself behind the water tank and cowered. His heart was beating a million per second, his brain panicking the hell out of his mind. Mortification and confusion were washing over him with shock. He glanced at the door to the stairs and ran. He sped towards it and then clumsily climbed down the stairs, tripping on the last step as the grand finale. Usopp was the first to meet him after it.

"What's up with you? Are you stupid or what?" Usopp said with desperation. Luffy locked his stare on the ground.

"Where's Nami?" he asked briskly. Usopp tried to make eye contact for a while but gave up after a few dozens of tries.

"In the classroom with Vivi, I suppose. I was with Coby downstairs so I'm not su-"

"Ok thanks!" Luffy said quickly before vanishing. Usopp was left rage rambling.

Luffy headed towards his class promptly. The thought of leftovers was now completely out of his memory and even the taste of Ace and Boa's bentos was slowly dying away. A weird chain of thoughts was giving him very _very_ wicked ideas. He needed to ask Nami a few questions and conclude his theory as fast as possible. Yes, Luffy had a theory. A theory that included a lot of repressed needs, _those_ kinds of needs. He entered the classroom with a woosh and as soon as his eye caught Nami he grabbed her wrist and dragged her away with him. Nami, of course, went the whole way fussing.

"Luffy stop right now! What is this?! I demand an explanation this minute!" She growled "Drop me! Let go, let go! Do you have a death wish?"

They stopped in a deserted corner of a corridor and Luffy dropped Nami's wrist.

"Thank God! What's with with you? You gave me a scare!" she whined a few words before calming down "So, tell me, what is wrong now?"

Luffy's face was the official signature of paleness. Anxiety was eating his insides away, nonetheless, he was determined. His expression was feeble but not yet out of will.

"Tell me about kissing" he said plainly. The sentence earned him a slap on the forehead.

"What the hell?! Are you joking with me?!" Nami burst out. Luffy caressed his head and pressed again.

"Tell me. Who can kiss who?" he asked. Although Nami was slightly embarrassed and not very comfortable with the subject she answered him.

"Anyone can"

"Anyone?" Luffy repeated somewhat confused. A vein popped up on Nami's head.

"Of course not anyone! People who like each other kiss, you know it! Can I go now?"

"Wait, wait, wait. What about guys?"

"Same thing"

"With each other?"

Nami was silent for a while. She stared at Luffy attentively and then grimaced.

"Luffy, are you telling me what I think you are? Or do you want me to kiss you or something?" she asked wearily. Her arms were crossed over her chest stoically. Luffy blushed slightly and then remembered the event up in the school rooftop.

"No, no, it's nothing like that… it's just that-"

"What?! Don't tell me that Boa girl is actually a…" Nami looked around to make sure no one was listening "…guy?"

Luffy shot her a funny look "Nami are you feeling ok?"

"Shut up! You're the one who came to me with this weird talk!"

"Ok, ok, forget it. I think I got it" Luffy said with a sigh. He was not going anywhere with the conversation and he knew he should not mention anything about Zoro and Sanji to Nami. Somehow he knew it.

"Got what? Is there someone you like? Are you going to confess? Do you want to kiss her or him?" Nami asked interested.

Luffy rejected and denied any idea of the sort. Even if Nami was indeed a good confider, Luffy could not possibly tell her everything he wanted given the circumstances he was in. Luffy could be a dense kind of character but he was not stupid. He was not going to ask her any further questions. If he gave her more hints she would certainly unravel his secret fancy, which was actually devoid of any secrecy to begin with. Anyhow, clearing the particular subject of boys kissing was good enough. Luffy felt his urges less criminal, less guilty than they were previously.

"Well, this story isn't over" Nami told him strictly. She glanced at her wrist watch and checked the time.

"We have five minutes. Let's go"

"Yeah, thanks Nami" Luffy said with a grin.

"Don't thank me yet"

* * *

Ace was hammering a poor little nail into nothingness. It was an act of whim, a way to smash something, given the fact he could not smash Boa Hancock's bentos and face. Jealousy was such another one of those things that did not work playfully. It was always serious business, at least when incorporated in Portgas D. Ace's being. Usually, he was not repulsed or bothered by other people's acts of kindness, much the contrary, he truly appreciated them. However, things were starting to run out of control. Every freaking day Luffy brought home another empty bento, surely gladly eaten. It annoyed Ace to no end. He could barely believe he actually washed them and gave them back to Nojiko, who, in her turn gave them to that hateful Snake-girl. It was a vicious circle with no purpose whatsoever, though it was a lot better than having Boa give her gifts directly to Luffy. Her shyness or whatever charm it was she though worked was the only thing positive about the whole deal. Ace could thank her for that.

"Oi, Ace. Here, take these to Thatch" Marco entered the adjoining warehouse with an armful of loot. A few more boxes were resting by the entrance "Come on, help me out a bit" he insisted coolly. Ace got up slowly and went to work.

"Why the sullen face?" Marco queried quietly.

"Nothing really. It'll go away soon" Ace mumbled while picking up a couple of boxes.

"Hmm"

Marco's reply was as assuring as ever. Ace sighed and followed his friend until he bumped into the other's back.

"Marco! Move it!" He snapped annoyed, though as soon as Marco turned around Ace found out the cause for Marco's slight freeze.

"Aaaaceee-kunn!!!! There you are!" Bonney's extreme pink hair blinded Ace momentarily. She swung her arms and self towards him, but he dodged her successfully.

"Need any help?" she asked happily, erasing her recent failure as if it had never happen.

"No we're good" Ace said dismissively. His frown was pretty deep.

"Eeh? Really? You look very tired, let me help-" Bonney approached but her hand was quickly slapped away.

"What did I told you?!" Ace warned angry.

"Don't need to be mean!" Bonney pouted.

"Ace, go on ahead" Marco told him.

"I was trying to!"

"No, I mean go home" Marco said stoically. His dead-fish eyes were locked with Ace's steadily "If you're too disturbed to work, then you better go home and settle your issues"

"W-what are you saying, I'm fine!" Ace retorted.

"I'll be taking your word on that then. Bonney," Marco turned to the sore girl "Bring the rest of those" he said while gesturing to the last two boxes by the small warehouse's entry. She nodded and followed the two men cheerfully. Bonney had the particular gift of resilience which gave her endless hope and endurance. Hadn't Ace been blinded by Luffy's attributes he thought so out of the ordinary and special, he would have noticed that Bonney was very similar to his younger brother in some ways.

The pink haired demon caught up with Marco deliberately and in a very low tone began a small enquiry.

"What's wrong with Ace-kun? He is in an awful mood" she said disappointed.

"It's the usual" Marco said casually.

"What's usual?"

Marco stopped in his tracks and looked at her. His nonchalant expression held a bit of surprise.

"You don't know?"

Bonney shook her head.

"Seriously, you don't?" Marco asked again. The fact Bonney was alienated from the crucial and foremost important thing about Ace's life was shocking. Bonney, the unconditional fangirl had not an idea about Luffy.

"Sooo? Come on spill it! I don't have all day! These are starting to heavy me down as well" Bonney complained, glaring at the boxes in her arms.

"It's Luffy, his brother" Marco told her. While the words escaped his lips a grief compelling amount of regret was felt. Marco bit his lip mentally.

"Ooh! I think I heard about that" Bonney said, though she seemed to be wondering to herself.

"You had-?"

"Yeah, but they are not real brothers right? I know it's something like that. I don't remember who told me though"

Marco looked at her astonished.

"So fangirls really are the real deal uh?" he thought out loud. Bonney stepped on his foot angrily.

"Shut up baldy!"

"Oi, what are you two doing?" Ace turned around still quite annoyed. Bonney replied with a sweet smile and Marco sighed.

Yes, Ace and Luffy were not blood brothers. For any outsider this was as simple to understand as the fact a human being needed to breath, however, for Ace and Luffy themselves the kind of relationship they had was much more complex and delicate than the vague idea it threw off. On a daily basis it was indeed simple. As family they were the number one example, if not Luffy Ace definitely was. But all the protection, interaction and dedication such relationship required ended up making things worse most of the times. Ace wished he could measure his emotions adequately but he knew he couldn't. Conclusion, it was better to leave things unsaid and limits untouched. They were brothers and that _must _be whatthey solely needed.

Ace was rummaging through such thoughts when his head collapsed with the kotatsu surface in one of his narcolepsy fits. Dreams were good enough.

"Oi Ace! You're drooling on my dangos! Shoo! Shoo!" Luffy pushed Ace's head away from the precious plate of dangos that Makino-san had brought after diner.

"Damn it, look at this!" Luffy whined regardless of having no receptor to his speech "I'm not letting them go to waste though, you hear? Tsk, always falling asleep on the stupidest place, my dangos even… idiot Ace" Luffy munched away contently, stare locked on the TV screen. It was only by the third green dumpling that he understood what was artfully happening. Luffy glanced at the dango plate than at Ace. He looked at the empty stick in his hand and then at Ace again. A thought exploded in his head.

_Indire__ct kiiiiisssssssss!!! _His mouth was ajar and his eyes bulged out comically. Luffy covered his mouth with a hand and hyperventilated internally for a few seconds. A light flush sprung to his face and he dropped the dango stick. The thoughts floating around his head took a sudden turn as well. _Should I do it? Shouldn't I? Yes? No?_ He looked at Ace's face attentively. Luffy feared the sleeping figure would wake up if he kissed him, though a few weak arguments took no time to boost his willingness. Ace had slept through worse: boiling water, gramps' horrible laughs, bumps, violent impact, thunder, fireworks, you name it. Luffy was quickly fearless. He leaned down and did it.

The contact with Ace's lips was thrilling enough and Luffy began feeling the immensity of it all, wondering why he was doing such a thing to begin with. What he didn't expect though, was the kissing back. Ace lifted his head and his hands travelled up to Luffy's neck and cheeks. Luffy was now positively panicking. Between feeling good and feeling wrong it was hard to choose, yet he was so strangely excited that he left thinking aside. He tried to take a glimpse at Ace but was too frightened with the idea to go through with it. Instead he indulged himself and remained pleasurably ignorant. Lamentably, not everything that's good lasts long. Ace jolted unexpectedly and pushed Luffy away with surprise.

"Wha-?!! What the hell?! What were you doing Luffy? Wha- is this real?" Ace looked left and right, up and down in pure shock. He was pure disbelief. Denial itself. For someone to wake up to his dream it had to be impossible.

Meanwhile, Luffy was blushing rouge in his spot, trying not to cover his face with his hands to mask the embarrassment. He also had a very big urge to grin and laugh but was suppressing such necessity as well. Ace would kill him if he dared. The older D. turned once again towards him and opened his mouth. Sadly, no words came out. He fumbled with his hands to try to express something but it was futile as well. Luffy's desire to laugh was almost has big as the desire to kiss Ace again. He endured.

"W-wha? Did I, did I kiss you Luffy? Sorry, I, I must have been sleepwalking, I…" Ace stared at the tatami floor while fishing for excuses. He could not believe his narcolepsy had reached such a point. What was he going to do?

"No, I did it" Luffy stated blatantly which made Ace face him immediately "But, Ace was the one who kissed me back" Luffy added as if the sentence could act like a protective shield. His older brother blushed further and tried to sort the events in his brain.

"I'm- sorry, I- I wasn't thinking. Well, you…" Ace stood silent for a while and then brought forth the big question "Why did you do it?"

"Zoro and Sanji did it"

Ace almost choked on the own air he was breathing "T-they WHAT?!"

"Yes. Don't tell anyone though. I'm the only one who saw them" Luffy said with a finger in front of his lips.

"Those two? Unbelievable…Wait Luffy, where are you going?" Ace asked as he saw his younger brother getting up. He was not letting Luffy flee out of this one.

"Sleep. I'm feeling really sleepy now, for some reason. Your sleep fit must have infected me. I had direct contact with it after all" Luffy said with a smile. Ace slapped the idiot's leg frustrated.

"Shut up! Forget that, stupid! You have to change your friends!" Ace reasoned badly.

"Ace needs to stop his sleepwalking first"

"Don't mention it!"

"Hihihihihihi"

"Don't laugh!"

* * *

AN: I can't do anymore! This chapter ends here my friends. I like obtuse endings (this is just an excuse). Anyway, thank you so much for the never-ending support. I know I froze this fic for a few months, and I am terribly sorry. I got too excited with my Gintama fics and only now (after that disastrous thing Oda did to me and all Ace's fans) did I finally write another chapter for this funny couple. I had missed writing them. I hope you will take this light-heartedly and be able to forget the sadness of the manga. One Piece will never be the same, regardless of all the amounts of epicness it gives us. I will try to be sooner in the next update. R&R


	7. Episode 6 Part I

Disclaimer: You know One Piece is all Oda's. No funny thing here.

* * *

Family Affairs

Episode 6 Part I

* * *

It was near seven o'clock in the afternoon when Ace finally got home. He opened the front door lazily with a sigh. The hours of study and work were weighting on his back stiffening his shoulders. His new hobby of spacing out was taking a serious toll on his life and he could not stop mulling over it. He was constantly up in the clouds trying to find an escape, an explanation, whatever kind of reason he needed to thrust some sense into himself. Obviously, such complete discomposure of being didn't have a sole ground on Ace. He knew it beyond words that it was all about Luffy and his playful antics. He could not dismiss them. Luffy was always bouncing around, gravitating around his older brother with new crazy ideas popping every other day. The latest, however, had taken it all. It had inclusively taken Ace's sanity _and_ lips. His soul was still baffled by the occurrence. It disturbed the chief of his being and it dragged on and on behind him wherever he went. It was a nasty, unshakable memory.

The door shut close with a low sound and Ace proceeded to take off his shoes.

"I'm home…" he said slightly devoid of emotion. His thoughts had robbed him of any excitement possible.

Ace stepped into the main hall and waited for a dazzling reply to his greeting, yet there was none. The only thing that showed the minimum sign of life in the house was the light creeping under the living room door. He approached the said room and soon loud noises reached his ears, more specifically various voices. It was definitely not the television. Luffy had brought a huddle of people home surely.

"Are you an idiot? Look at that result! Do you even know what's two plus two? What a dunce!" Usopp's distinctive tone rang outside the room.

"Shut up!" Luffy replied irritated. Ace chuckled. The loudmouth group was as lively as ever.

"You two stop arguing this minute! You're pissing me off!" Nami chided immediately silencing the other two.

"Don't be so rude on Luffy-kun!" Another girlish voice followed. At this Ace froze. The hand he had deliberately raised to slid the door open stopped its friendly motion and halted in shock.

"It can't be…" The words slipped of Ace's mouth in a whisper. He was trying to reassure himself but the more conversation reached his ears the more he dreaded; the more angry and insulted he felt. _She_ could not be here. In his house, in his temple, in the invisible unconscious cage he shared with his brother. It was simply not possible! When had their relationship come to such a point as to invite her to come here? Ace was outraged. He flung the door open briskly and, under surprised stares, scanned every centimeter of the room.

"A-ace?"

"Ace! You're back!"

Ace nodded to the perplexed welcomes and greetings. The room was indeed crowded. Around the kotatsu sat most of his brother's usual friends: Nami, Usopp, Vivi and Robin. Then, inexplicably, right between the last two girls sat another one which Ace knew all too well by now; dark long hair that descended her back beyond the waist, light blue eyes and a cold expression adorning her perfect face. Boa Hancock, his latest arch-enemy sat right there in his living room, in his favorite cushion! Ace tried to suppress a frown but a fragile bump against his knee distracted him from doing it.

"Ouch!"

Ace turned around to find a dizzy Chopper whirling slowly from the sudden impact.

"Sorry there Chopper, I didn't knew you were here" Ace excused himself quickly and bended to survey the short reindeer.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I didn't hit you that hard" He replied with a giggle.

Ace was just about to ask him another question when a pair of arms attached themselves to his neck, bringing with them the rest of the supple body.

"Ace is home!" Luffy chirped happily. Ace sighed and began deleting all the sensations his nerves were producing in his brain.

"Don't cling to me like that, go study!"

"Ace is right, Luffy! Get your ass back in your seat and finish the damned equation!" Nami shouted a meter away. Ace thanked her mentally and relaxed his body as soon as Luffy sadly detached himself from him.

"They've been cramming for two hours almost. No wonder Luffy is already tired, everything is an excuse to run away" Chopper said by Ace's side. The two stood by the entry door surveying the study group attentively.

"Two hours? I can barely believe it" Ace said in disbelief. Chopper laughed at his reaction.

"It's true, really"

"Incredible… It's all Nami's work though. I'm glad she keeps them in order"

"Yeah"

"I'm going to fetch a few snacks. Wanna help?" Ace asked innocently.

"Sure!"

His plan to lure an informant succeeded. They entered the kitchen and after gathering a few glasses he and Chopper began pouring iced tea into the recipients.

"So how come you're here? Don't tell me they dragged you out of Kureha's clinic again?" Ace asked with little interest.

"Ah no, no! I came to see how you were doing and then I bumped into the large party" Chopper explained.

"I see"

"Has the rash disappeared completely?"

"Yeah, it vanished a couple of days ago- here grab this" Ace handed Chopper a plate of chocolate cookies and sighed "Don't place them near Luffy, I know it won't make much difference but…" he told the small doctor, yet murmured the last part mostly to himself. Chopper nodded and zoomed off returning a few minutes later to help Ace carry the drinks. A short silence then ensued while they divided the glasses evenly. Thankfully, Chopper cut to the chase fast enough.

"I have been meaning to ask this for a while…" Chopper began awkwardly. Ace peeked at him from the corner of his eye. He knew what was coming and he was anxious for the doctor's opinion "Who's that pretty girl? Is she in Luffy's class? I didn't get it very well"

"No. Actually, she's attends my school, I guess she's here because Robin brought her or something"

"Oh! So is she your friend?"

"N-no, not really" Ace answered honestly.

"She seems rather… distant… I don't know. But she is pretty" Chopper said shyly.

"Yeah, she's a strange one indeed" Ace grinned to himself before their conversation ceased at the living room.

Another half an hour passed in intensive studying. With Ace there, Nami and Vivi were less harassed by Luffy's annoying complaints and they were able to concentrate deeply in their math. Apparently they had a test next week, fact which mildly scared Ace. Did they mean to spend the following days in his house studying with that leech there as well? From time to time Ace would send Boa a suspicious glare and she would return it mercilessly. It was strange how they had established such an ambience without the use of words. Although, truth be told they weren't needed. Ace knew why she was there and she knew why he was shooting her those glances, or at least she _supposed_. Ace doubted she knew even a speck of his thoughts. He amused himself for a while wondering what causes Boa might have conjured to justify his hostility. Maybe she thought he simply disliked her, which was not far from reality, perhaps she thought he liked her and thus was playing hard to get, maybe-

"Ace-kun? You're spacing out. Focus, please" Robin's polite call brought him back from his musings. She had been helping him with his own studies since the younger folk were already being assisted by Boa, especially Luffy. The long haired girl was presently using the cookies Makino had given the D. Brothers to reward the latter for each solved exercise. The wench!

"Sorry, sorry, could you repeat that?" Ace turned to Robin apologetically. He was decided to bury himself in his papers to avoid further anger.

"Yes, of course. Listen…"

When the clock struck eight the group finally decided to disband. Vivi had already left with Chopper fifteen minutes earlier since she lived near his neighborhood. By the entrance the guests were putting on their shoes and dressing their respective coats. Nami was giving her last instructions to Luffy in a very barren tone and Usopp was rummaging through his bag looking for her notes.

"See? It's this formula! You can't forget! Think about a sheep. This formula is a sheep. That equation is grass. Every time there is grass like that you need to call the sheep to eat it! 'Kay?" Nami said gesturing exasperatedly. Ace looked at her with pity but after perceiving his brother's violent nod he shook his head with a grim.

"What about a cow? Cows eat grass too"

"Forget the goddamn cows! Math doesn't have cows!"

"Then how can it have sheep? I don't understand!"

"Ok! I give up! I tried, I really tried- oi Usopp! My notes! Quick or this airhead will stun the rest of my brain!" Nami ordered. Usopp fumbled with a few papers and then got up.

"Here, found them!"

"Finally! Thanks"

After this little display Ace turned to the older girls. Robin was finishing putting on her boots and Boa was staring coldly at him. It started him at first but he did not lose time fearing it. He sent her a weak smile and bowed his head gently to brush her off. Fortunately it worked. She turned away with a click of her tongue and crossed her arms offended.

"Hey! Where's my left shoe? AH-! Stop stepping on it Luffy!"

"Ah, sorry. I didn't see it!"

"Open your eyes then, sheesh! Look at this, it's all squeezed"

"Well, then. I'm off!" Nami announced. She waved them all goodbye and walked out of the front door.

Ace watched her go with a thoughtful expression. He wondered why lately every single friend he saw hanging around Luffy was a girl. Did his brother have a freaking magnet or was he doing it on purpose? Sometimes it really ticked him off. When Vivi first came to existence in their chain of friends it had pissed Ace as well. Even now she still seemed to have something of a crush for Luffy, a tiny shimmering of attraction. Ace knew it better than he should. But it didn't worry him much. She was too shy or impulsive to act. However, Boa was a whole different subject. She was bold and direct and she bothered Ace to great extents. Not to mention all the superficial attributes people already noticed about her. His brother's density was indeed a gift from heavens.

Ace then glanced towards Usopp. There was a guy he really liked. The decent, normal friend! Ace had once bestowed his blessings on Sanji and Zoro too, but thanks to the latest developments his good graces had fell from their high rank. It didn't matter much if they were lovers or not, the only problem he had with the pair was the unjustified example they gave and would eventually give to Luffy in the future. Ace's misery was their entire fault to start with. He had pondered many times on the subject. If Luffy hadn't watched the two kissing would he have still kissed him too? It was an eerie supposition which obliged Ace from exploring no further.

"Thanks for having us" Robin said with a slight bow. Boa mimicked her and smiled gracefully.

"Thanks for the invitation Luffy-kun"

"See you tomorrow"

"Goodbye!"

The two dark haired girls headed out and a substantial weight was lifted off from Ace's shoulders. The air seemed strangely breathable once again. Not that anybody else noticed of course. Usopp left after them a few minutes later, shouting at Luffy until he was at least one block away. A stranger would be shocked at the amount of yells Luffy understood from such a distance, though Ace was already used to it.

"Aah… they finally left… I still don't understand the sheep thing…" Luffy muttered to himself disappointedly. Ace closed the front door and pushed his brother towards the living room in a fake cheer.

"Just go tidy that room so I can serve dinner. Go, go"

"Right away!"

Ace gave Luffy's shoulders a few condescending pats and then fled to the kitchen to avoid any scene. He was beginning to feel very anxious of any possible awkward silence. Besides, the fact that one could never know how Luffy would react was eating his insides. The kid sure was an impulsive person. Ace didn't know what to expect and every time he remembered himself of it, his thoughts returned to the endless wonder about what could have ever made Luffy kiss him the other night. It was frightening. Their relationship was stepping dangerously out of its protecting boundaries and all Ace could do to reassure himself was repeating over and over again in his head that it had been a once in a lifetime thing, biased by a confusing display of affections from Luffy's friends. Nothing more, nothing less.

After dinner, Luffy immediately dropped asleep in front of the television. The mental strain the study session had demanded from him was clearly looking for compensation. Ace nudged him a few times on the belly, telling him to go sleep to his own room but it was hopeless. Luffy remained sprawled in the living room floor in a deep slumber while Ace washed the dishes and stored the rest of his brother's junk away.

"This room is a mess!" he shouted from Luffy's bedroom bewildered "When I said to go tidy your things I didn't mean to transport the dump in the living room to another place! Can't you at least sort things into piles or something? Damn, look at this…" Ace ranted for a whole half hour before returning to his brother's location. Obviously the fool was happily asleep and deaf to any complaint. Ace's brow furrowed with frustration.

"Free of worries, aren't we?" he said ironically to the motionless body. He got no reaction apart from a loud snore.

"You really piss me off sometimes..."

Ace picked up Luffy's right arm and pushed him up. He managed to drag the lethargic sleeper to his respective bedroom and lay him down on his futon. He didn't bother to change Luffy's clothes; it would only be embarrassing and strange at this point. Ace placed a hand on his brother's forehead and caressed the messy hair for the sake of motion. He couldn't stand being there staring at the younger D. without doing anything. His hand almost begged to do something just so he wouldn't collapse into a pool of shame.

"What am I gonna do with you…" The sigh put into words Ace's main concern. What to do next, how to react… he had no idea. Sometimes he wanted to go back to the time when things were not complicated, when his urges didn't affect a single bit of his reason. It was by far the best solution, but it was the hardest one too. While he ached for the past, Ace would unconsciously let a glimmer of hope shimmer on the present state of affairs, even when they were starting to differ from their usual family tone.

Ace drew back his hand and tapped gently Luffy's arm one last time before leaving the room. Unfortunately for Ace, his last gesture did not go by unnoticed. A sluggish hand came clinging to the hem of his shirt and softly pulled him back as if asking him not to leave so soon. Ace smiled sadly and took Luffy's hand on his own. He tried to remove it from the grip on his shirt, but it was of no use. The following measure was stupid, it triggered what should have remained dormant, yet Ace couldn't possibly have guessed it. He leaned over Luffy and whispered softly on his ear so as not to disturb him more than necessary.

"Sleep Luffy, sleep" he said, shaking his brother's hand away.

His speech met a grumble of disapproval and Luffy's drowsy arms proceeded to wrap themselves around Ace as if he were a pillow. The latter shoved the hyperventilation aside and tried desperately to flee from the situation. It angered him that a circumstance such as this could have once been regarded as of no importance at all. Damn his stupid mind and damn stupid Luffy!

"Luffy let go… I have to go to sleep too"

Any verbal retaliation only found answer in rumbles and snores. Luffy was either very deep asleep or very persistent, which would not surprise anyone by now. Ace let his head fall on the futon in defeat for a few minutes and, when Luffy's tight hold finally loosened, he backed away and got rid of those menacing arms. The little brother groaned at the sudden withdrawal, but Ace rewarded him with a flimsy peck on the cheek just like he used to do when they were little. Terrible choice. Ace acknowledged the immensity of his mistake just before the dull Luffy reacted to the kiss with a torrent of kisses of his own. The older D. suppressed poorly his chuckles at the cute sight, but he wrestled efficiently against the cuddly antics.

"Luf- Luffy, stop, stop, stop… I just came here to put you to sleep. Come on' stop that or I'll hit you!"

Luffy halted his snuggle more from habit than from will. It was good to know Ace's threats still worked to an extent. Nonetheless, Luffy pouted and opened a slant streak of his eyes to plead.

"Ace stay"

"I need to go turn off the lights" Ace told him patiently.

"…tomorrow"

"No I can't do it tomorrow. Now go back to sleep, idiot" Ace at last detached himself from Luffy and walked up to the bedroom door. The sleepy head kept mumbling incoherently for a while, but Ace shut the door close so he wouldn't succumb to any abrupt temptation.

He turned off the lights in the living room and hall and then entered his own bedroom to rest over a good night's sleep.

* * *

The next morning dawned cloudy. Ace had just finished dressing up when the doorbell rang and he gave his morning greetings to Makino.

"Good morning Ace-kun. Here, I have your mail" she said good-humouredly and handed the elder brother his letters.

"Thanks Makino-san. I forgot to check it yesterday"

"Don't worry. Wood Slap insisted for me to come give them to you. He wants me to keep an eye on you two"

Ace sneered "Yeah, right…"

"Anyway, I won't detain you any longer. Good day at school. Say hi to Luffy-kun for me"

"Sure"

"Bye!"

Makino walked back to her own apartment and Ace went back inside. He checked the letters one by one with a frown, since most of them were bills and then he came upon a very unusual envelope. He spent a few seconds studying the handwriting on the front and, with eyes widened as far as physically possible, he tore it open excitedly. He perused the contents at least four times before putting the damned piece of paper down.

"Luffy! Oi! Come here for a sec! You got to read this!" He called happily. The younger brother walked out of the bathroom with toothbrush still in his mouth.

"Uhgha?" Luffy asked. His lips were covered with blue foam. Blame the toothpaste.

"You won't believe who just sent this" Ace said gesturing to the piece of paper in his hand. Luffy bit the toothbrush hard and grabbed the letter with his two hands to read it thoroughly. Unfortunately, he didn't reach the end before staining the hand-written document with blue froth. His excitement got the best of him and he spurted out imperceptible words of joy along with a mix of drool and toothpaste.

"Give me that! Go spit that out first, then I'll let you read Dandan's letter again" Ace scolded harshly. He grabbed the paper back and sent Luffy to the bathroom with a stern look. Needless to mention, the latter returned not even a second later with the corners of his mouth still stained with blue stuff.

"I'm back. Let me read it again, let me, let me, let me" Luffy insisted. Ace handed him the precious mail and picked up the nearest napkin to brush off the sticky remains of Luffy's blue toothpaste.

"Turn over here" Ace said. He grabbed Luffy by the chin and cleaned his mouth completely while the other read the letter attentively. Once he finished, Luffy began shooting his usual array of questions.

"So, when are we going to visit Dandan and the guys? I really miss them! It's been years since we last saw them! I bet she is fatter and nastier! Shishishishi!"

"I was thinking maybe this weekend. I don't know" Ace wondered "But we have to go as soon as possible. Dandan said my mother's gravestone finally arrived. I should go and see it for myself"

"Yay! So we're going!"

"Yeah, we are- hey! What about your test? You should study this weekend" Ace suddenly remembered. He stroked his hair pensively while trying to think of a solution to their problem.

"You can stay. I'll go" was the first option that popped into his head. Luffy instantly refused the idea.

"No way! I want to go too! It's been ages since I've seen Dandan. And gramps never takes us there either!" he protested. Ace nodded.

"You're right but-"

"I'll study real hard during the rest of the week, I promise" Luffy said with an exaggerated bow. Ace eyed him suspiciously.

"This doesn't sound good"

"It does, it does. Come on! Don't be a jerk!"

"Oi! Don't push your luck!"

"Can I go or not?"

"Suree.." Ace granted Luffy his consent with a feeling of defeat. It's not like he could resist him.

* * *

AN: I'm almost afraid of posting a decent author note. I don't know how to beg for forgiveness for such a late update. Things became kind of chaotic lately with exams and stuff, and inspiration took a while to come. I hope you readers will pardon my laziness as well. I divided another episode in two because I'm still not sure how things will go with Dandan. After re-reading this chapter I think of it as a light introduction for the second part. I'll also try to focus more on Luffy's insight next time. Hopefully this fic (and many others on this site) will help the readers ease the pain of Ace's death. I cried tears and snot when I saw his grave. It freakin' hurt!

Thanks for all the reviews, alerts and favs. The support is awesome. I'm glad there are so many Ace and Luffy fans out there. R&R.


	8. Episode 6 Part II

Disclaimer: Oda owns it all, and you know it!

* * *

Family Affairs

Episode 6 Part II

* * *

The week flew by mercilessly for Luffy. His free hours were completely taken over by Nami and her array of math exercises and formulas. The study sessions sponsored by his older brother were as harsh as ever, perhaps even more painful to withstand since Ace's encouraging mood seemed to boost up the spirits of those most diligent, ergo not Luffy. Nevertheless, he didn't falter. He failed to succumb to any diversion or luring invitation of Usopp's. Luffy abstained from games and play for the sake of his weekend. He would not break his promise to Ace. Luffy was determined to study hard, not only for the achievement of his special desire, but for himself as well.

And so, Saturday arrived, fresh and bright, the ideal weather to travel. The two D. brothers exited their home early in the morning, a few minutes before the clock struck ten, and headed for the bus stop in front of Patty's Bar.

"Do you have everything? Did you pack your socks? You know you always forget them! What about your math notes? Did you bring your notes? You may want to have another look at them during the weekend. We won't be constantly fooling around, you know? Dadan wouldn't let us either way. Oi, Luffy are you listening?" Ace questioned his younger brother patiently. He was going through the usual ordeal of inquiries he always had to do before they went away on a trip. Motherly instincts were already too imbued in Ace for him to feel the embarrassment of his actions. Luffy, who stood beside him at the bus station, was rummaging through his backpack frenetically and checking his pockets while poorly processing the questions.

"Yeah- I packed them. I DID! I swear they are right here! Look- here they are-" Luffy's arm reached deep into his bag and retrieved a bundle of fabric.

"Here!" he said triumphant, thrusting his grip high above their heads. Ace looked up at Luffy's findings with suspicion and not even a second later he understood that his intuition was indeed right.

"Idiot! That's your underwear! Shove it back inside! Quick!" Ace chided furiously "Go look for those s-sockets!" he snarled at Luffy with a slight blush. The latter obeyed with a grunt and dived again into his backpack to look for the damn socks. It was best to yield to the trite shouts and maroon expressions Ace made, experience had thought Luffy so.

"It's socks, not sockets. Are you even awake! I bet you forgot to pack your clothes properly too!" Luffy replied half-angry half-amused. He could not suppress his bad habit of messing with Ace.

"Shut it! I always double check my stuff. I'm not an empty airhead like you! Someone has to do things right!"

"Yeah, sure! Like that time your bike was stolen!" Luffy spat back ingeniously.

"Because I was looking for yours!" Ace replied slightly offended.

"Oh, really? What about that time you forgot your shoes at school?"

"You forget yours all the time!"

"But I didn't blow up the microwave!"

"I was heating _your_ popcorn!"

"I fell on the stairs because you forgot to put away gramp's trunk!"

"Oh, really! You're never going to let that one go, uh?"

"It's the truth!"

"I already apologized!"

"That doesn't mean I forgot!"

"You don't need to throw it to my face every single time!"

"Then you don't need to steal MY share at Sanji's every single time!"

"It's not your share! It's supposed to be equal!"

"I'm still growing, of course I need more!"

People around them soon began to flee or back away. The two brothers, too concentrated on their fight and arguments to notice, were completely oblivious to the fact that such another pair of brawlers was making its way towards them and scaring the surrounding pedestrians. It was only when both quarrels clashed with one another, voices mixing and outbursts melding together, that the two groups stopped their heated discussions to face each other.

"Uh?"

"Who the hell…"

"What now!"

"Ah!"

"Noo!" Ace's shock left his mouth before he could muffle it. His luck couldn't possibly be worse these last couple of days. In front of him stood two people he didn't have the least necessity to meet, much less will. Inclusively, one of them could be shipped to the other side of the world for all he cared.

"Hey Zoro! What are you doing here this early? Are you sick?" Luffy cheerfully greeted his friend and glided to his side.

"No, I'm fine. I was on my way somewhere when I bumped into this toxic glutton-"

"Shut that stupid trap of yours! I'm at my limit with your insults, pot of snot!" the pink haired girl next to him screamed outraged. Luffy's gaze fell upon the female standing next to Zoro. She had long bubble pink hair and bright red lips tinged with lipstick. Her overall countenance was actually pretty funny and extravagant next to his morose green haired friend. Luffy turned around to share his devious amusement with his brother yet he only met with a badly hidden grim across Ace's face. Before Luffy could even open his mouth to wonder about such a sour expression, events unrolled before his very eyes explaining themselves.

"Aceee-kunn~~~~~!" More bipolar than a magnet Bonney jumped from her weary spot at Zoro's side to Ace's and clang to his arm affectionately. Luffy beheld the gesture with slight confusion and perplexity. He racked his brain trying to collect memories from this supposedly unknown girl but he got nothing. He truly did not remember her from anywhere, so why did she know Ace? Luffy turned his head to both sides with a pleading look across his face. Could someone please brief him extensively and thoroughly? He began to think name, age and address would not be enough to satisfy his curiosity when Zoro proceeded with some information of his own.

"That's Bonney" he grumbled while stepping up to Luffy. The two stood beside each other by the sidewalk surveying the sad, yet entertaining, display of Bonney's affections on Ace who relentlessly rejected her.

"She's my neighbor. I left early this morning to give some help at the dojo when she appeared out of nowhere with these insane stacks of food and crashed into me. She's been plaguing me to pay her back the damages the whole way here" Zoro said dispassionately. He shot Bonney a tedious look and shrugged his shoulders. He didn't seem to be as eager to fuss as usual.

"I never saw her at school" was Luffy's remark. He was too disconcerted and distracted by the continuous advances of the pink haired monster on his elder brother to notice Zoro's detachment.

"Yeah, she's older. College" Zoro replied shortly. Luffy started.

"She is?" ~

Zoro nodded.

After a few minutes of intensive thought a switch resounded inside Luffy's head. Things were starting to make sense.

"AH!"

His brain mechanisms were finally set in motion free of obstructions. Taking advantage of the abnormal flow of clearance swirling up in his head, Luffy assembled past events together and managed to do his math correctly. This Bonney had to be the same girl Nami and Vivi had been talking about a few weeks ago on the school's rooftop. That conversation had really struck Luffy, but only now did he comprehend it entirely. The B lettered name, the fancy for his brother, everything fitted. Also, the row of fights and discussions that had followed, Luffy now apprehended, had only been a fruit of his misunderstanding. Luffy bit his lip unconsciously. He felt the weight of his blunder.

"Well, I'm outta here. Better take this chance to get lost from her. See ya around Luffy" Zoro said with a tap on his shoulder. The younger D. abandoned his thoughts for a moment to engross in his friend's parting.

"Bye Zoro! I'll be out this weekend but tell Nami I'll study real hard! I know she'll torture me if I fail!" Luffy babbled honestly, though mostly to get rid of the awful feeling Bonney's figure was giving him. Zoro smirked at his desperation.

"Sure, if I see her"

"Byee!"

Luffy stared at his friend's back long enough until the green head disappeared from sight after the nearest corner. Luffy felt a little jealous of him. What in the world could his problems be? Zoro could live next to that funny looking girl but he didn't have to deal with her all over his bro-! His what? Brother? Luffy munched the subject momentarily. There shouldn't be any problem with such sentence. The idea of Ace having a girlfriend bordered what was most random in the world, yet this was not a normal case and Ace, well, he wasn't exactly Luffy's _brother_. The whole plot was a mess; a big big mess which overwhelmed Luffy's comprehension ever so often.

"Of course I didn't babble a thing Ace-kun!" Bonney pressed.

"I seriously doubt that"

"Have you heard anybody talk about it? Law's slip was not my fault, you know it!"

"I do? Care to give me some clearance on that one?"

Luffy now turned towards the bustling couple attentively. They were discussing a matter that escaped his knowledge completely. It sounded important but the more Luffy heard the more lost he felt. He cursed his earlier distracting thoughts with regret.

"… only him and he already knew. No need to deny that. I bet he was the first one you told to, am I right?" Bonney said conceited with a hand on her waist. Ace growled.

"You think you're really smart, uh? I'm still curious to know how you learned of it, but I prefer to keep away from the creepy details"

"Oh, don't be so mean Ace-kun"

"I'll need a word or two with that Marco…" Ace mumbled angrily to himself. Bonney giggled fiendishly.

"Haha, Pineapple-head will be sad when he sees his best friend snarling at him like a dog. No matter... That only gives me more opportunities. Go ahead~" a smile of satisfaction played on her lips. Luffy shot her a disgusted look and ventured a step forward. The pink haired girl immediately noticed him. She perused his frame with shifty eyes, her hideous grin never leaving her face. The next words she spit out of her reddish lips were coated with pure mischief and, though she addressed them to her lovely crush, she did not break eye contact with the younger brother.

"You shouldn't roam Shanbondy's streets alone Ace-kun. You know people will wonder and some will ask questions which will definitely be answered, be the answers true or not"

Ace suppressed a vicious growl. He was burning with fury but managed to utter a reply.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about. What are you doing here anyway? Leave us alone"

Bonney giggled amused and covered her mouth with manicured fingernails. Her gaze shifted from one brother to the other in deep analysis.

"_Us_…" Luffy heard her whisper. He approached his brother and reached for his wrist absentmindedly.

"Is everything ok?"

"Fine. Just fine" Ace replied automatically. Luffy felt his brother's blood pumping through the veins beneath his skin. He soon released the stressed wrist.

"How adorable" Bonney commented. A hand was resting faithfully by her cheek "I think this is the first time I've seen him. The real deal… _Luffy-kun_" Hearing the pink haired girl pronouncing his name gave Luffy goose-bumps. It took him one look at his brother to understand the effect was unanimous.

"Not very alike after all. I wasn't expecting a miniature Ace either way…" Bonney stared at Luffy quite sternly and seemed to be murmuring to herself "Yeah the eyes are different, and the face in general…more boyish definitely… not blood related indeed-"

"Look Ace! There's the bus. Let's go!"

Luffy sprinted towards the vehicle like a madman running from his nightmares. He didn't have it in him to mistreat girls, not even to raise a single finger against them. Therefore he fled. He didn't want to see the damned girl ever again in his life. What a creep! He grabbed his bag and trunk and ran past the girl. He saw her grin one last time by the corner of his left eye and then he squeezed himself in the crowd that had gathered to enter the bus. No sooner than he expected, Ace joined him and with a firm gesture motioned towards the entry doors.

"Go inside. Leave this to me" he said grabbing their baggage "Here's your ticket" Ace took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Luffy. The latter received it doubtfully with a stubborn pout. Ace reacted with a sigh and glanced quickly above his shoulder.

"Forget her. She's an annoying eyesore… ignore her, ok?"

Luffy didn't have time to make his reply audible. Ace rapidly vanished from sight to go put away their bags, leaving him alone in the line of passengers. Luffy cursed under his breath and waited for his turn to enter. Without even once looking around to check if Bonney was still around, he made his way towards his seat. He fixed his eyes on the back of the seat before him and refrained from looking over to the window. Unfortunately, Bonney's hair was too flashy for him to disregard. The second the pinkish blur caught his attention outside the window, Luffy instantly locked his stare on her. His eyes followed her until she reached Ace and began dropping another series of comments, which surely were not entertaining Ace to any extent. Luffy squirmed in his spot to try to get a better angle, yet all he could see was the back of his brother's head and the face of the wicked girl.

She followed the older D. to the entry line, constantly moving her lips, babbling words that couldn't reach Luffy, but which certainly reached his brother's wearied ears. She latched onto his arm affectionately and smiled happily. Maybe it wasn't cruelty or evil, Luffy thought, perhaps that was just how she was. He didn't know enough about Bonney to give a righteous judgment. However, as honest as he was, Luffy couldn't lie to himself. The sight of her burned his skin with contempt and the words she had spoken bore spikes in his heart. He wished she would just disappear.

Amidst all his bubbling aggravation, Luffy managed to capture the moment Bonney stole a goodbye kiss from Ace. No need to mention Luffy's mortification doubled at the sight. It probably reached the end of the scale and blew the rest with it. The engine of the bus began working and, when the landscape started moving, Ace finally sat by Luffy's side eradicating the kiss' sensation with a fierce rub of his hand.

It was only half an hour later that conversation ensued, though nowhere near Luffy's desired topic. Who, what, when and how, were the four words begging to scream out of Luffy's mouth. All of them concerning Bonney.

"… are you listening? What did I just say?"

Luffy answered Ace's question with a blank stare.

"Thought so. You never listen to what other people are telling you-"

"I was listening!"

"Then what did I say?"

"I forgot"

"See!" Ace brought a palm to his forehead in defeat. Luffy simply shrugged.

"I'm going to take a nap. Don't fall asleep or we will miss our stop, you're hearing me Luffy?" Ace then said. He leaned back on his seat and closed his eyes. Luffy nodded in agreement. Usually it would have been useless. Luffy always fell asleep whenever Ace did. It was a chain reaction. Strength of habit. However, he was too alert, too disturbed to sleep at the moment.

Thus, the bus moved on taking a sleeping Ace and dazed Luffy to Mt. Corvo. The latter had been the very place where the two had met for the first time. It had been, and still was, their first home. As they passed by Midway Forest and a bunch of other nostalgic places Luffy kept bringing to mind his childhood with both his brothers. Him, Ace and Sabo. How fun it had been. At first it had been awkward to mingle with them and to get used to Dandan's strict and rude manners, yet Luffy found it all worthy now. The only thing he regretted was having let Sabo go. Just before moving to Fuschia, their brother had told them he was going to travel, mainly to escape his father who refused to allow him a life of his own choosing. The parting had been sad, but sporadically there would be letters if not for Ace and Luffy, certainly for Dandan who would relate Sabo's words to the remaining siblings.

"We've arrived at the entrance to Corvo Mountain. Next stop: Goa. Final Stop: Florian Triangle District. Please do not forget your luggage. Watch out the closing doors…"

The driver's monotonous voice reverberated through hidden speakers stealing Luffy's attention. Half a dozen people got up from their seats and began exiting the vehicle fumbling with their belongings and calling their companions. A few others entered ready for their voyage. After watching them for a brief moment, Luffy turned to his brother to wake him up. Ace was still sleeping profoundly, drooling ungracefully from one corner of his mouth. Luffy called him a few times unsuccessfully.

"Acee. Aaacee! We've arrived. Oi!"

He shook his brother's arm, at first softly then more fiercely. Ace's slumber was meant to be undisturbed apparently. Most of the passengers stopping at Mt. Corvo had already left the inside of the bus. The two brothers were the only two remaining.

"Wake up, oi!"

Luffy glared at Ace slyly while thinking of a solution. Lots of extravagant ways to wake up his brother ran past his mind, but none seemed appropriate enough for the situation. Meanwhile, as his brain worked hard to find the perfect method, his body began moving in a diverging way, approaching Ace closer and closer. Perhaps it was a spur of the moment thing, perhaps it was Luffy's instinct worried that his brother might not be breathing (thus the need to check so closely)… Luffy would never know. His actions were interrupted by an eerie giggle coming from two seats ahead. Luffy raised his head to meet the owner of the sound and a chill ran down his spine. A pair of dark eyes bore its look on him, totally devoid of iris. The whole eye seemed a pool of black; a single giant pupil struck on his figure. Nevertheless, this was not the shocking detail. The girl's hair, tied up in two high pigtails, was pink colored. A sense of déjà-vu washed over Luffy and gave his skin another round of goose-bumps. He yelped perplexed and proceeded to land a slap on Ace's head, which was something he wouldn't have considered minutes ago.

"We're here!" Luffy almost yelled. His hand met Ace's forehead comically and the elder D. jumped in his seat.

"Yeah, yeah, right!" Ace mumbled disoriented. He massaged his temples while getting up.

"Move, move!"

"I'm moving!"

"Quick or we'll lose our stop!" Luffy replied irritated. He pushed Ace's back eagerly and, just before stepping out of the bus, stole another glance at the queer girl dressed in frilly clothes.

"Weird"

"What?"

"Uh- nothing… nothing…"

The bus departed with more or less the same amount of passengers and the two brothers began the ascent to Dandan's house on the top of the hill. While they climbed, Luffy tried to forget the existence of the color pink and Ace blurted out nasty and tired remarks every two seconds.

"Damn, that stupid old hag… she could have sent Magura to help with the bags…"

"He's got all that muscle for nothing! Nothing… shit…"

"Damn- ulgh!..." Ace tripped on a small rock almost falling on his back "Shit, that could have killed me!"

"… listen Luffy, next time- nah! Forget it. I doubt there'll be a next time. I'm not going through this again…"

"Seems like ten years ago… running up and down the hill doing chores for that hag… damn it…"

"Hey, you're pretty silent… what are you mumbling?- oi, I think I see it. There's the house… ah… ah… oi… Luffy… yell at them. I can't handle it anymore…"

"It's your fault anyway… who told you to bring the whole house after you? If you could you would have brought the fridge, right?"

"Damn… don't make me speak so much!"

"I didn't utter a thing!" Luffy finally said. He knew it was futile to say anything, but Ace's rambling was destroying his attempts to eradicate everything pink from the world.

"Yeah, right! You've… been… mumbling the whole way here! What the hell are you doing? Exorcising a demon? Sheesh!"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm doing!" Luffy replied equally angered. It pissed him off that Ace failed to see his efforts. Yet, all he said was only adding fuel to the fire.

"Shut up then! Your exorcising is not helping!... please start calling out those damned goons! My back is killing me!"

Truth be told, Ace was carrying more than half their baggage. He had reasons to be tired and furious. However, that had been his decision as the big brother. Luffy sighed.

"You call them!"

"I'm dying here!"

"I'm dying too!"

"I'll die first! Look at these bags! You stuffed bricks in here, didn't you?"

"Of course not, why would I do it!"

"SHUT UP YOU TWO!"

From between the trees a large figure appeared. Dandan and her colossal figure shadowed the two brothers holding an angry expression. She was smoking as usual and right behind her trailed Magura and Dogura looking amused.

"You have barely arrived and I'm already hearing your shouts two miles away, damn it! Shut those traps and be done with it!" the tall woman roared. Luffy and Ace toned down accordingly.

"Good. You two help them with those bags" she said to her followers. They nodded and after an exchange of greetings took a couple of weights from Ace and Luffy.

"Thanks'"

"Thought you'd never show up" Ace murmured annoyed. Magura and Dogura answered with a pair of sneers.

"Anyway, let's get going. So tell me, what have you two devils been doin' down there? How's Garp?..."

There were big amounts of conversation to unfold and until dinner mouths never stopped chatting at the top of Mt. Corvo; Dandan with her rude remarks, Dogura and Magura with their shady remarks and Ace and Luffy with their own funny stories. After pampering their stomachs though, they all scattered each to their own spot. Magura and Dogura went to a tiny village near the Grey Terminal to buy some snacks, Dandan buried herself in an armchair by the living room along with her bottles of ale, Ace joined her forcefully after a fit of sleep and Luffy roamed through the house looking for a phone. In his hand he gripped his math notes nervously. He was trying not to forget his questions before picking up the damned phone.

"Oi, Dandan, where's the phone? You broke the handler again and hid it? "

"Shut up, pissant! It's right there in the kitchen! And I did NOT break it again!"

Luffy shouted her thanks and sneaked into the kitchen. After snuffling around he finally found a green telephone, much like the old one. Luffy had a theory that Dandan had bought an unlimited stack of green phones so no one would criticize her violent behavior. The fact she still wrote letters in spite of living so near them was a faint but clear clue.

Luffy inputted a series of numbers and waited for Usopp to pick up. He wouldn't dare call Nami or she would strangle him from the other side. He hadn't actually told her he would be out on the weekend so it was better to take it all on Monday. Much better. After a few rings his friend picked up.

"Hello?"

"It's me, look…" Luffy greeted casually and then started spitting out his array of questions at once while spreading out his notes on the kitchen table.

"OI OI OI OI OI OI OI OI!" Usopp screamed from the other side of the line "How do you expect me to answer to all that! I'm almost as dumb as you!"

"What do you mean _almost_!"

"I'm not a total idiot"

"Shut it! Did you write them down?"

"What?"

"My questions"

"ARE YOU CRAZY? Of course not, you probably had two hundred math questions… I didn't even understand the first one"

"Idiot! How will I know them now? I'll forget them!"

"YOU'RE THE IDIOT!"

"I wouldn't be if you wrote them down!"

"Call Nami! I'm not up for this. I can't stand more math stuff! I think I'm starting to see _things… _you know?" Usopp began with a creepy voice. Luffy stirred.

"_Things_?"

"Yeah… things… last night before I was going to bed I went to the bathroom to wash my teeth. I squeezed the toothpaste too fast and it spurted out to the sink. When I looked down… do you know what I saw?" Usopp's voice was barely a whisper.

"W-what?" Luffy gulped.

"The DenDen EQUATION!"

Both boys shrieked in horror.

"The toothpaste had collapsed into the sink and formed the DenDen equation! No lie!"

"Holy crap!" Luffy replied horrified.

"I quickly washed the sink over with the tap on its max flow. I decided to delay teeth brushing. Then, Usopp-sama went to bed…" he went on "I closed my bedroom door and got into bed. The window curtain let a streak of moonlight onto the floor and then… a cloud passed by and when the shadow of the cloud mixed with the lamp's you know what it formed?"

"N-no… please don't…" Luffy pleaded.

"The number THIRTEEN!"

Another shriek of horror followed. This time Dandan, who sat at the living room, heard it and replied with a yell of her own.

"KEEP QUIET OR I'LL BREAK THE DAMN PHONE THIS TIME!"

Luffy jolted surprised and held on more tightly to the speaker.

"Usopp! Please stop the jokes or Dandan will turn into the Skypie Theorem and divide me alive!"

"It's not a joke Luffy-kun! These events really happened to Usopp-sama!"

"Right… anyway… can't you call Nami and ask her my questions? But don't tell her I asked!"

"What? Are you kidding me? She'll kill me! Do you have any idea how many times she has hit me for being dumb? If I ask her your questions she'll pound my brains into dust! Yesterday I asked her what…"

As Usopp continued with his story, Luffy surveyed the kitchen around him absentmindedly. Since he had arrived he hadn't had the opportunity to give the place a good examination (thanks to all the chat), and taking into account the memories he had created on such house, it sure needed one. His eyes met innumerous dents on the table and burnt marks on the walls. He remembered every single one of them. Why and how they were made. His memory might be bad at math, but to keep good old memories it was the best.

He noticed a plastic bag of caramel candies a meter away. His stomach growled instantly in response. He stretched his arm along with the telephone cable and managed to grab it. He popped one into his mouth and returned to his conversation with Usopp. The latter seemed to have ended his narration.

"… so that's how it is. Call her yourself" the voice on the other side of the line said triumphantly. Luffy nodded a sad sigh and then a kind of pertinent inquiry crossed his mind.

"Hey Usopp"

"Yeah?"

"What's your hair color?"

Usopp grunted in dismay.

"Are you for real?"

"Come' on. Tell me. It's still black right?"

"Of course it is! If I dyed it I would have gathered opinions first! Wouldn't want to look like a freak!"

"Yeah right! A freak!" Luffy said, more to himself than to his friend.

"Anyway, what's this all about hair color?"

"I was just wondering… Have you seen people with pink hair?"

"Wha-?"

"I mean… more people with pink hair than usual"

"No, not really. Just Coby"

"Oh right…"

Luffy pondered Usopp's answer while reaching for another caramel.

"This is a really creepy matter. Are you alright? You think you finally lost it?"

Luffy glared into nothingness offended.

"Lost what?"

"Your marbles"

"What marbles?"

"Oh man… your mind-!"

"LUFFY YOU BETTER GET OFF THE PHONE OR I'LL SEND GARP THE DAMN BILL!" Dandan suddenly yelled from the living room. Luffy gulped and patched up a quick goodbye.

"I gotta go Usopp, give Nami a nudge for me. Bye-"

"I told you-"

Luffy put down the phone handle before Usopp could fuss any further. He really hoped his friend would talk to Nami, if not he was screwed.

Luffy stared at the math papers scattered on the table with a grim on his face. He had told Ace he would take a look at them but it was useless. It was too late and he was too tired to even think about two plus two. Hence Luffy scrambled them all together and let his head fall right on top of the big math pile.

"Hate maathh….."

He grabbed another caramel and tore the wrapping. Before popping it into his mouth he looked at it intently and then at the bag. He was sure he had tasted those before. He could vaguely recall the flavor. Dandan then showed up at the door of the kitchen interrupting his thoughts.

"I'm going to fetch Magura and Dogura. They're late. See if you can send Ace to bed. He has been sleeping in the couch all contorted. He'll get a damn sprain in his neck if he doesn't change position soon. Go there wake him up" she said sternly. Luffy nodded with his head.

"I won't take long, AND I don't want you two up and around when I come back. This is not a holiday house. Now, clean that up and go to sleep" she said motioning to the notes in the kitchen table.

"Yeah, I'm going. Ah- wait a minute. Dandan…" Luffy called the woman who was already storming off towards the entrance door.

"You've bought these caramels again?" He asked dangling the bag in his hand. Dandan glanced at it quickly and shrugged her shoulders.

"It was Dogura. You and Ace liked them a lot when you were little. Guess you weren't the only ones. I'm off" and with that she closed the front door. Luffy stood there looking at the caramels thoughtfully. A memory rushed to his mind.

It had been six or seven years ago. He and Ace were splitting the bag of candies in half and one caramel had left. They fought for it with the stupidest arguments. In the end, so as to decide the fair possessor of the last caramel, Ace proposed a wrestle fight. Luffy in all his naivety accepted it, not knowing Ace had chosen the option which suited him best. It was a sure win and so Ace won it. Luffy, pained with the sting of a sore loser vented his frustration with Dogura who in turn told him about Ace's trick. Luffy became mad. To pay Ace back and mostly to rile him up, he stole the caramel which he had unfairly won. Obviously Ace found out and did not lose time chasing after his bratty brother.

"_Stop Luffy! Give it back! It was my win! Stop being a bad loser!"_

"_You're the bad loser! I know your trick!"_

Luffy ran out of the house and sprinted to the backyard. He could hear Ace following steadily behind him. Their bare feet smashed the green grass beneath them as they ran along.

"_Give it back! I'm not telling you twice!"_

"_It's mine now!"_

"_Luffy!"_

Luffy failed to hop over a tree trunk near the backdoor and fell face-first onto the ground. Ace took the lucky opportunity and grabbed Luffy's left ankle so he couldn't escape anymore.

"_Gotcha!"_

Luffy squirmed to get rid of Ace's tight grip on him but he knew he was doomed. Instead he ripped the caramel's wrapping and shoved the candy into his mouth. He wouldn't let Ace be the last one to laugh that time. He looked at Ace's perplexed face with amusement.

"_N-Noo!"_

Luffy giggled pleased from his laying position on the grassy ground. Ace looked all mortification on top of him, with furrowed brows and mouth open in shock. Unfortunately, Luffy couldn't stop his victorious giggling.

"_You! Idiot! How could you! It was my win!"_ Ace repeated in disbelief. He squeezed Luffy's cheek with one hand, but the latter didn't drop the smug expression.

"_I'll pay you back that one-!"_

"_If you want it come get it"_ Luffy teased him. He stuck out his tongue where the prized caramel rested covered in drool.

For a moment Luffy's breath stopped. He had indeed intended to mess with Ace but what followed left him quite stunned. In an act of impulse Ace lowered his head down to Luffy's. His dark locks of hair brushed Luffy's cheek and his breath prickled the tip of his nose. Luffy's eyes bulged out astonished but before anything too scarring could happen Ace stopped himself and met his younger brother's horrified look. His cheeks blushed so intensely and so quickly that Luffy thought he had become sick. Then without further ado and faster than lightening, Ace sprung to his feet and disappeared from sight. Luffy was left alone munching on his caramel more than slightly confused.

Ace never gave him an explanation afterwards. It was a matter deliberately forgotten.

Back in present times, it was the same Ace who had vanished in that memory who woke Luffy from his reminiscences.

"Damn… I think I fell asleep on my arm. My neck hurts too… hey, are you ok Luffy?" he asked worriedly.

"Yeah I'm fine. I was just… thinking…" he said, trying to prevent his flush and failing miserably. Ace shot him a look of suspicion and then shifted his gaze towards the caramel bag in his hands.

"Oh, candies" he muttered "Shouldn't eat before going to sleep, but to hell with it" he said with a smile. Luffy gave him a weak smile in return and reached for the bottom of the bag.

"No way…" he suddenly uttered surprised.

"What?"

"It's the last one" Luffy stated awestruck.

Silence ensued while the two stared at the caramel in Luffy's hand. Ace was the first to speak.

"What now?"

"You want it?" Luffy asked with a grin. Ace smirked.

"No"

"I wouldn't give it to you anyway"

"I know you wouldn't"

* * *

AN: Oh man, this was a long one. I had no idea what to write about in the beginning. I only knew I had to put Dandan in here somewhere. Who would have thought all those events would be written down. Even Bonney's part turned out outrageously long! I didn't mean to, really. Damn. Next chapter is still cloudy in my mind, but I'm taking care of Ace's little secret I began on chapter one. Hopefully it will fit well in the plot. Thanks to kitsune-chan for remembering me of it a few chapters back. I didn't forget our conversation x)

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Thanks for the favorites and alerts. I bow down to the floor to all of you. Thanks a million!


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